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

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Title: Barrel Fever and Other Stories

Author: David Sedaris

Narrator: David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-03-05

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 517 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

David Sedaris made his debut on NPR's Morning Edition with "SantaLand Diaries", recounting his strange-but-true experiences as an elf at Macy's, and soon became one of the show's most popular commentators. With a perfect eye and a voice infused with as much empathy as wit, Sedaris writes stories and essays that target the soulful ridiculousness of our behavior. Barrel Fever is like a blind date with modern life, and anything can happen.

Critic Reviews:

"Extremely, relentlessly funny." (Booklist)

"David and Amy Sedaris have a deadpan delivery as ironic as the words they read. The two of them create a nuclear barrage of humor you could never replicate by reading this material on your own." (The Boston Globe)

Members Reviews:

Be warned- Santaland Diaries is NOT included

I understand this audiobook is abridged, but not including Santaland Diaries (by far the most popular story in the printed book) is bizarre. The publisher's description used by Audible.com is two paragraphs, the first paragraph includes a description of Santaland Diaries and the second paragraph is almost completely devoted to Santaland Diaries. And one of the other stories included in the audiobook even references Santaland Diaries. Yet no Santaland Diaries in the audiobook, and no warning of this from Audible.com.

Anyway David Sedaris is great as always and his reading is entertaining and fun but it's tough to recommend an audiobook of stories missing the best and most popular story in the printed book. I was on a road trip and promised my friend I would have Santaland Diaries audio for the ride. It was a little disappointing to sit through the recording while driving and wondering where Santaland Diaries is, so I emailed Audible.com support to let them know they might want to change the audiobook's description on their website.

Their email back to me (abridged, natch):

"Dear Eric, (not my name)

After reviewing your account and the title that you mentioned, it appears that the title maybe missing a section as the title is a revised and curtailed edition of the original version. However, let me further explain further details surrounding titles that are 'Abridged'.

An abridged book is usually a shortened version of the original written text. It is condensed by removing some of the original plot details, yet retaining the sense of the entire book."

I wrote them back again further explaining that I want to point out that this download is bound to disappoint most people who buy it with their current description and I did not get a response from their condescending computer customer support who (I guess?) calls everyone Eric.

My least favorite David Sedaris so far

As usual, David Sedaris is hilarious, smart, and just fabulous to listen to. However, some of the stories were uninteresting and unfunny-- a first for me reading his work. And his sister got to be just irritating with her ridiculous (not in a good way) accents. I fast forwarded through a large segment of the second half.

My first wasted audio credit

After reading "Dress Your Family..." and "Me Talk Pretty...", which are both excellent, I was ready for more Sedaris. This is only 3 hours long but I figured it might be some of his live routines, which are usually the funniest. There were none.

It's hard to believe this is written by the same guy.

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Title: The Know-It-All

Subtitle: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

Author: A. J. Jacobs

Narrator: Geoffrey Cantor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-04

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 557 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The mission began in October 2002, with the word "a-ak". The word launches hilarious misadventures through 32 volumes, as Jacobs accumulates useful and less-so knowledge, and along the way finds a deep connection with his father, examines the nature of knowledge vs. intelligence, and learns how to be rather annoying at cocktail parties.

The Know-It-All is an ingenious, mightily entertaining memoir of one man's intellect, neuroses, and obsessions, and a soul-searching, ultimately touching struggle between the obsessive quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom.

Critic Reviews:

"One of the book's strongest parts is its laugh-out-loud humor." (Publishers Weekly)

"Sidesplitting." (Time Out New York)

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: South

Author: Ernest Shackleton

Narrator: Geoffrey Howard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-22-04

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 131 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Shackleton's gripping account of his incredible voyage follows him and his men across 600 miles of unstable ice floes to a barren rock called Elephant Island. It records how, with a crew of four, he crossed 850 miles of the worst seas in a 22-foot-long open boat and how, after landing on South Georgia Island, they then had to traverse over 20 miles of mountainous terrain to reach the nearest outpost of civilization. Shackleton recounts, too, the efforts of his support party aboard the Aurora, who in temperatures of -50 degrees and winds of 80 m.p.h. still managed to drop off supplies on the opposite side of the continent, little suspecting the fate of the Endurance and the ordeal of its crew.

An astonishing story that explores the limits of unparalleled human courage, Shackleton's South ranks among history's greatest adventures.

Members Reviews:

Gripping, moving, brilliant story

I listened to this one in the car on my way to and from work each day. As the end approached, I would sit in my car and listen - I couldn't bring myself to turn off the player. I even cried, twice. I never cry.

Best part is by Sir Ernest

The first 2/3 of the book focus on Shackelton's trek. The book loses some appeal after he switches to the Ross Sea party efforts. The narrator, while wonderful in general, does a poor job of identifying either through pauses or other effects, when Shackelton is quoting from diaries.

For readers not familiar with the story, Sir Ernest (the Boss) was one of the true leaders of the modern era. His expedition to cross Antarctica went horribly wrong, but his amazing leadership and vision brought the 27 men under his command out of the ice into safety with only minor injuries.

His description of the events are at the same time scientific and lyrical. He is equally at home discussing the pressure ridges of the ice as he is describing the amazing sunsets and twilights.

A great listen.

Absolutely remarkable story

What did you love best about South?

Its remarkable because its a true story. I doubt any fiction writer could think this one up. You can only stand back and admire their courage, skill and determination against all the odds.

Which character as performed by Geoffrey Howard was your favorite?

Shackleton who else.

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

Overall the way Shackleton genuinely cared for his men.

they don't make 'em like that any more

I was cought up in the recounting of an event that I thought couldn't get any worse, and then the book moved me to a situation going on at the same time, so much worse, time and time again. riviting. A time when men were men and hardship was a test ment to be overcome. I listened to it three times just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Diary of an Antarctic expedition

This is more a diary than a novel and therefore goes into considerable detail which perhaps does not add to the story; particularly in the latter chapters.

However, it is a story of focus, leadership and managing the risks of such a perilous journey.jb

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Title: A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Author: Maya Angelou

Narrator: Maya Angelou

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-02

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 170 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A Song Flung Up to Heaven opens as Maya Angelou returns from Africa to the United States to work with Malcolm X. But first she has to journey to California to be reunited with her mother and brother. No sooner does she arrive there than she learns that Malcolm X has been assassinated.

Devastated, she tries to put her life back together, working on the stage in local theaters and even conducting a door-to-door survey in Watts. Then Watts explodes in violence, a riot she describes firsthand.

Subsequently, on a trip to New York, she meets Martin Luther King, Jr., who asks her to become his coordinator in the North, and she visits black churches all over America to help support King's Poor People's March.

But once again tragedy strikes. King is assassinated, and this time Angelou completely withdraws from the world, unable to deal with this horrible event. Finally, James Baldwin forces her out of isolation and insists that she accompany him to a dinner party - where the idea for writing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is born. In fact, A Song Flung Up to Heaven ends as Maya Angelou begins to write the first sentences of Caged Bird.

Members Reviews:

Being there is part of the strength of this book.

This wonderful woman knew and helped and was helped by three of the now dead heroes of my youth--James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. And she was in Watts interviewing housewives for a marketing company when the citizens started burning and looting the stores. In short, she was intimately involved in many major events of our recent past; she knew both the leaders and the followers and has the skill as a writer to tell us how she and they reacted to those events. In addition, she has a great voice (she also sang professionally), which she uses to fine effect as the reader of her own book. Paraphrasing Holden Caulfield, I just wish I could call her up and ask her what's been happening lately. Buy this audio book; listen to her; you'll feel like you've been blessed for having done so.

best book I have listened to

This was excellent. It is amazing the various things Angelou has done. Having her read it was so neat. She is interesting whether she is talking about family interactions, setting up for job and living in a new city, or very dramatic historic events such as Watts explosions.

Fantastic

Truly enjoyed hearing this title. Her voice inflections and tone added to the book's value for me. I appreciated hearing her honest depiction of life events. Maya Angelou's writing style allowed me to feel moments of joy and of pain.

Song flung up to heaven

If you could sum up A Song Flung Up to Heaven in three words, what would they be?

somber, gentle, heroic

What other book might you compare A Song Flung Up to Heaven to and why?

i know why the caged bird sings

What does Maya Angelou bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

her own word emphases, humor, joyful and sorrowful voice

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Wonderfully written.

It is so marvellous to hear Ms. Angelina tell her own story. I read her autobiography previously. I saw her receiver the Presidential medal of honor on line. I fully understand why she is poetlauriet.

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Title: French Lessons

Subtitle: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew

Author: Peter Mayle

Narrator: Simon Jones

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-03-01

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 227 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

We visit the Foire aux Escargots at Martigny-les-Bains - a whole weekend devoted to the lowly but revered snail. We observe the Marathon du Médoc, where runners passing through the great vineyards of Bordeaux refresh themselves en route with tastings of red wine (including Chteau Lafite-Rothschild!). There is a memorable bouillabaisse in a beachside restaurant on the Côte d'Azur. And we go on a search for the perfect chicken that takes us to a fair in Bourg-en-Bresse.

There is a Catholic mass in the village of Richerenches, a scared event at which thanks are given for the aromatic, mysterious, and breathtakingly expensive black truffle. We learn which is the most pungent cheese in France (it's in Normandy), witness a debate on the secret of the perfect omelette, and pick up a few luscious recipes along the way. There is even an appreciation and celebration of an essential tool for any serious food-lover in France - the Michelin Guide.

Here we have all the glory and pleasure of the French table in the most satisfying audiobook yet from the toujours delightfully entertaining Peter Mayle.

Critic Reviews:

"Simon Jones performs Mayle's firsthand account with absolute assurance and skill." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Delightful

What fun. This book sent be reaching for my travel planner and wishing I too could enjoy all the local festivals and food fairs deep in the French countryside. Peter Mayle writes with wit and joy as usual and lives the life I dream of. A great look into the little known side of the France I love and the food I crave. Mayle makes the simple life the French enjoy one to be craved. Tres Bon!!

French Lessons

This book was hilarious! I recommend it for people who love (French) food and wine -- and I dare say it -- French and France. Better yet for those who have spent some time amongst the Brits and can appreciate the narrator. Superb! This was my first book with Audible and I was completely hooked. Enjoy.

Hilarious!

This is one of the funniest books I have ever encountered. Peter Mayle writes with such humour, and Simon Jones brings it to life in his uniques animated fashion. Fabulous!

Appetizing Read

I do not enjoy travel and have a terribly untutored palate, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love listening to descriptions of people enjoying food and wine, and Peter Mayle conveys his enjoyment and manages to include me at the table. I, like Mr. Jenkins, never eat anything I can't pronounce, but Mr. Mayle broadens my horizons and allows me the second-hand experience of far-away things without leaving home. The narrator was excellent, surpassed only by Mayle himself. This is a wonderful listen for a slow day on the porch or in the garden.

A delightful romp through French food and wine

I just finished up listening to this delightful tale of food and wine. The narrator was wonderful and the author had me hooked, knife, spoon and fork. The book is autobiography of Peter Mayle and his experiences with the French and their obsession; food and wine. His wit is sharp as cheese and had me giggling like a school girl with a first glass of wine. It was lighthearted and food filled. Perfect. No villains, no murder, no scandalous rendezvouses, unless you count the encounter with frog's legs.

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Title: A Sand County Almanac

Author: Aldo Leopold

Narrator: Stewart L. Udall

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-22-00

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 323 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Told with metaphor and poetic allusion, this audio magically takes you on a journey into nature. You'll experience the history of a region in every ax blow to a tree. You'll walk behind Leopold on a moss-paved deer trail, pursuing quail. And you'll mourn with him about the vanishing white pines. A Sand County Almanac's uncommon blend of a poet's soul and a prophet's vision is as timely today as when it first appeared over 50 years ago.

Critic Reviews:

"We can place this book on the shelf that holds the writings of Thoreau and John Muir." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"One of the seminal works of the environmental movement." (The Boston Globe)

"Beautiful, heart-warming, and important." (The Chicago Tribune)

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: Neither Here Nor There

Subtitle: Travels in Europe

Author: Bill Bryson

Narrator: Bill Bryson

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-16-99

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 595 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early '70s - in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Over 20 years later, the acclaimed author of Notes from a Small Island, The Mother Tongue, and A Walk in the Woods decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth, carrying with him a bag of maps, old clothes, and a stinging wit honed to razor sharpness by 2 decades of adult experience. The result is this affectionate, blisteringly insightful, and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales - a brutally frank and uproarious tourist's-eye-view of the Old World according to Bryson.

©1999 Bill Bryson; (P)1999 Random House, Inc., Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Members Reviews:

I wish he were my neighbour.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. I read it in paperback originally and it was the first of his books that I read, but enjoyed listening to the audio book as it was narrated by the author (I am in fact disappointed that his other books available from audible are not all narrated by him), I am really only writing this review to rebut something negative said in one of the other reviews.

The other reviewer talks about him "bragging about his lack of knowledge" but either failed to continue listening to/reading what came after that, or is purposefully being disingenuous. Mr. Bryson talks about how he doesn't speak any language besides English, but goes on to say that what he likes about being unilingual in foreign countries is that it makes him feel how young children must feel; having no real idea what is going on around them but happy to be there nonetheless.

I feel that that distinction is important as it changes the tone of his comment altogether from 'bragging about his ignorance' to a comment on innocence. I wouldn't want anyone to give this book a miss because of a review written by someone with either poor reading comprehension or an axe to grind. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions, but those opinions should be based on facts (or the entirety of what the author said) not just snippets taken out of context.

Funny and informative

I love reading Bill Bryson and it is a treat to hear him narrate his own book. He is very funny and the book is filled with interesting facts and observations. If you listen to this on headphones in public, people will stare at you when you laugh out loud.

Charming but out of date

I'm a big fan of Bill Bryson but this is one you can skip. He makes a solo trip around Europe in 1990 and compares it to one he made with a young backpacker in 1973. He offers many interesting comments along the way but his effete mid-Atlantic accent and mispronunciation of German names can grate at times. But it's all way out of date now in 2015. Listen to his wonderful Thunderbolt Kid instead.

Been There -- Didn't Do That!!

Bryson is like the Professor we all wanted to have in College, the one your friends had but you couldn't get in. His intelligent narratives and thorough investigation will make you beg to listen to his next book. Although Bryson and I don't share the same politics, I love his writing just the same.

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Title: Love, Loss, and What We Ate

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Padma Lakshmi

Narrator: Padma Lakshmi

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-16

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 435 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A vivid memoir of food and family, survival and triumph, Love, Loss, and What We Ate traces the arc of Padma Lakshmi's unlikely path from an immigrant childhood to a complicated life in front of the camera - a tantalizing blend of Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone and Nora Ephron's Heartburn.

Long before Padma Lakshmi ever stepped onto a television set, she learned that how we eat is an extension of how we love, how we comfort, how we forge a sense of home - and how we taste the world as we navigate our way through it. Shuttling between continents as a child, she lived a life of dislocation that would become habit as an adult, never quite at home in the world. And yet, through all her travels, her favorite food remained the simple rice she first ate sitting on the cool floor of her grandmother's kitchen in South India.

Poignant and surprising, Love, Loss, and What We Ate is Lakshmi's extraordinary account of her journey from that humble kitchen, ruled by ferocious and unforgettable women, to the judges' table of Top Chef and beyond. It chronicles the fierce devotion of the remarkable people who shaped her along the way, from her headstrong mother, who flouted conservative Indian convention to make a life in New York, to her Brahmin grandfather - a brilliant engineer with an irrepressible sweet tooth - to the man seemingly wrong for her in every way who proved to be her truest ally. A memoir rich with sensual prose and punctuated with evocative recipes, it is alive with the scents, tastes, and textures of a life that spans complex geographies both internal and external.

Love, Loss, and What We Ate is an intimate and unexpected story of food and family - both the ones we are born to and the ones we create - and their enduring legacies.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Critic Reviews:

"The host of 'Top Chef' narrates her memoir as if she's telling her story to a trusted friend. She sounds expressive and vulnerable--revealing mistakes with a tone of regret, letting her love shine through the voices she creates for beloved family members, and enthusing about her passion for food, fashion, and travel." (

AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Touching, Deep, Surprising, and Inspiring

I bought this book kind of "by mistake" when I inadvertently clicked on it. I thought about returning it but since I am a firm believer in the 'messages we receive from the Universe', I didn't, and I am very happy that I kept it.

This lady's story is very touching and one that many women -and men- can relate to.

To be frank, it even brought me to tears a couple of times, but then again, it was also joyful and entertaining, and may I say, a little bit of a reality check.

The appendix to her story was a surprise, and I was also very happy that she included a pdf with some delicious recipes.

She has a soft, nice voice which makes it a very enjoyable listen.

I do recommend Padma Lakshmi's book.

Not what I expected

I was immediately surprised at the exceptional narration. Expressive and believable. Padmas impressions of her mother, other family members, and of her partner Teddy made me smile. She really could have yet another career in narration.

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Title: Love, Africa

Subtitle: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival

Author: Jeffrey Gettleman

Narrator: Charlie Thurston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-16-17

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 115 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

From Jeffrey Gettleman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, comes a memoir about finding love and finding a calling in one of the most violent yet most beautiful places in the world.

A seasoned war correspondent, Jeffrey Gettleman has covered every major conflict over the past 20 years, from Afghanistan to Iraq to the Congo. For the past decade, he has served as the East Africa bureau chief for the New York Times, fulfilling his teenage dream of living in Africa. Love, Africa is the story of how he got there - and of his difficult, winding path toward becoming a good reporter and a better man.

At 19 Gettleman fell in love - twice. On a community service trip in college, he went to Africa - a terrifying, exciting, dreamlike continent in the throes of change that imprinted itself on his imagination and heart. One day, he vowed, he would return there to stay. But around the same time, he also fell in love with Courtenay, a fellow Cornell student - the brightest, fiercest, kindest woman he'd ever met.

Courtenay became a lawyer in America, and all Gettleman wanted was to be with her. But he also hungered to be in Africa. For the next decade, he would waver between these two abiding passions. Finally, after a great deal of growing up, he learned to be honest with himself about what he wanted - a realization that ultimately fulfilled both of his deepest desires.

A beautifully rendered coming-of-age story in the tradition of Barbarian Days, Love, Africa is a tale of passion, professional rivalries, tortuous long-distance relationships, marital strife, forgiveness, parenthood, and happiness that explores the power of finding yourself in the most unexpected of places.

Members Reviews:

Loved this book!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Love, Africa to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the printed version so I have no way of comparing the two.

What other book might you compare Love, Africa to and why?

It has the complicated love story of a David Nicholls book with the current affairs value of The Economist. This guy was there for every major African event of the past twenty years: the rise of Somali pirates, Iraq (and Afghanistan), the Nairobi shopping mall attack. You get an insider's view that offers more than just a headline and death toll.

What does Charlie Thurston bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

From Ivy League lawyers to Ethiopian warlords, Charlie Thurston does a good job of navigating all the different characters with their myriad backgrounds and sensibilities.

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

In among all the chaos and despair of Africa, there's a love story at the heart of this book that you're really routing for.

Any additional comments?

Brutally honest and often, just brutal, this book will do more to give you the travel bug than any brochure.

Africa and a bit of Florida

I enjoyed this true story very very much it had a lot of my hometown in it . Brooksville, Seffner Mango, Tampa, Florida. all of which is my hometown and stomping grounds. I love the story it was back and forth to Africa to Afghanistan and America , It was well worth listening to. I remember the newspaper articles and news on TV of the some of the things the writer talked about in this story. I listened to the whole story all in one day .

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Title: Between Them

Subtitle: Remembering My Parents

Author: Richard Ford

Narrator: Christian Baskous

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-02-17

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 59 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

From American master Richard Ford, a memoir: his first work of nonfiction, a stirring narrative of memory and parental love.

How is it that we come to consider our parents as people with rich and intense lives that include but also exclude us? Richard Ford's parents - Edna, a feisty, pretty Catholic-school girl with a difficult past; and Parker, a sweet-natured, soft-spoken traveling salesman - were rural Arkansans born at the turn of the 20th century. Married in 1928, they lived "alone together" on the road, traveling throughout the South. Eventually they had one child, born late, in 1944.

For Ford, the questions of what his parents dreamed of, how they loved each other and loved him become a striking portrait of American life in the midcentury. Between Them is his vivid image of where his life began and where his parents' lives found their greatest satisfaction.

Bringing his celebrated candor, wit, and intelligence to this most intimate and mysterious of landscapes - our parents' lives - the award-winning storyteller and creator of the iconic Frank Bascombe delivers an unforgettable exploration of memory, intimacy, and love.

Critic Reviews:

"Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Ford's remembrance of growing up in the 1950s is at times insightful, enlightening, and emotionally evocative, especially as performed by narrator Christian Baskous.... Baskous uses his dulcet voice and practiced pacing most effectively in scenes in which Ford describes living with his colorful grandfather, the manager of a bustling hotel in Little Rock, prime territory for a young storyteller in search of material." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Absorbing!

Richard Ford's prose is as always remarkable. In this narration, Christian Baskous inhabits Richard Ford's mind and soul. This is an extraordinary, intimate and absorbing performance.

I wish Ford had read it himself

I'm sure the book is terrific. Ford is one of my all time favorite writers, but I can't continue listening after the first minute. The performer's whispery voice is too annoying and hard to listen to. I speak Dixie, so it's not his accent, which is pleasant. Too bad.