Get Best Sellers Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

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Title: Charles Dickens

Author: Jane Smiley

Narrator: Anna Fields

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-03-04

Publisher: Books on Tape

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Charles Dickens offers brilliant interpretations of almost all his major works, an exploration of his narrative techniques and his innovative voice and themes, and a reflection on how his richly varied lower-class cameos sprang from an experience and passion more personal than his public knew.

Members Reviews:

Outstanding book, deserves 6 stars, not 5

Jane Smiley has taken an innovative & thoroughly satisfying approach to this Dickens biography. Rather than a purely chronological exploration of the man & times, she has successfully intermixed biography, literary analysis, understanding the man from the novels, and the novels from the man's experience. By so doing, the reader gets a flavor of Dickens' business life, home life, formative years, and the cross influence on his literary output. As well as some comparisons of a personal & literary character with his novelist contemporaries. Jane Smiley is able to reach into her own experience as a novelist & as a celebrity (certainly not a celebrity of the stature of Dickens in his time, but able to extrapolate) to enrich our picture of the man & his times. The book is never boring, and the reader is also outstanding. I am hoping to sample a few more of these "small biographies" that come from the same series.

A writer examined by a writer

A fascinating look at the life of Charles Dickens from another writer who asks: How did he create his career? How did he choose what to work on?

According to the reviews, this biography is shorter than others, which makes it perfect for an audiobook. It is just right for a trip from Oakland to San Diego, or a few weeks' commuting, and you come away with deep insight into a fun and famous author.

'Most everything I've read by Jane Smiley I have loved, and this is among her better books.

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Title: Roughing It

Subtitle: A Personal Narrative

Author: Mark Twain

Narrator: Norman Dietz

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-25-02

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 162 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

"If there is any life that is happier than the life we led on our timber ranch, it must be the sort of life which I have not read of in books or experienced in person," wrote Mark Twain, and now you can share in that experience. The beloved American humorist spent seven years on a "pleasure trip" through the untamed wilderness of Nevada. Twain intended to spend three months touring silver mines, but the lure of rough terrain and comfortable clothes proved irresistible - as will this vibrant travelogue.

(P)1987 by Recorded Books, Inc.

Editorial Reviews:

Norman Dietzs resonant voice, and his affable delivery, makes him the ideal actor to perform the spirited memoir Roughing It: A Personal Narrative by writer Mark Twain. This entertaining travelogue explores a seven-year journey through the wilderness of the American west. The original plan had been a mere three-month excursion to tour silver mines. Twain traveled with his brother Orion Clemens - the Secretary of Nevada Territory - and derived much humor from their adventures in unfamiliar landscapes and situations.

Members Reviews:

Hilarious

For some reason I missed "Roughing It" in my earlier attempts at reading all of Mark Twain. My loss: it's an absolutely hilarious journey, part factual reporting, part tall tale in the best western campfire tradition. (If you're familiar with the omitted "raft chapter" in "Huckleberry Finn," you know what to expect.) One of Twain's greatest strengths is his willingness to include himself among the objects of genial mockery. This is Mark Twain the Humorist at his best.

I didn't find the problems with audio quality that others reported. I agree that Fraley's recording of "Huckleberry Finn" is a superior piece of work, but Norman Dietz does a great job on this one. He's droll, unassuming, loquacious, and endearing, and he adopts one of a variety of other voices at the drop of a hat. My one complaint would be a certain breathiness of delivery -- occasional rapid delivery punctuated by sharp intakes of breath. I think this is partly a matter of recording age and technology: I find that occurring less often on more recent audiobooks. In any case, for an audiobook that gave me this much pleasure, I have to give it five stars.

Funny and Entertaining

I don't know why this book is not more known or read. It probably is the definitive book on the sights and sounds of the Old West, certainly moreso than the Westerns I've read. I laughed out loud listening to it, causing a bit of a stir among fellow airplane passengers.

Always a favorite

I've read this book numerous times since I was young, and the stories and anecdotes are always fun and entertaining. I've traveled the areas mentioned countless times, wishing I could have experienced it as Twain did.

I only had one complaint about this recording. I'm sure everyone has seen jokes that get passed around the office, Xeroxed and faxed over and over until they're almost unreadable. This recording reminded me of that. The quality is extremely poor. If I had known about the audio quality beforehand, I wouldn't have purchased this recording.

Don't miss this classic!!!

The recording wasn't the best but who cares as long as you can make out the words! This is a unique look at Twain and the way he saw the world.

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Title: Luck or Something Like It

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Kenny Rogers

Narrator: Taber Burns

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-02-12

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

A remarkable story of a boy who couldn't stop singing, and a man who knew how to hold 'em.

For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved music in America and around the world. In that time, he has become a living legend by combining everything from R&B to country and gospel to folk in his unique voice to create a sound that's both wholly original and instantly recognizable.

Now, in his first-ever memoir, Kenny details his lifelong journey to becoming one of American music's elder statesmen - a rare talent who's created hit records for decades while staying true to his values as a performer and a person. Exploring the struggles of his long road, his story begins simply: growing up in Depression-era Texas, living in the projects, surviving in poverty, and listening to his mother, who always had just the right piece of wisdom.

Recounting his early years, first as a jazz bassist and later as a member of the pioneering folk group the New Christy Minstrels, Kenny charts how he came into his own as an artist with the First Edition, only to have the band's breakup in the 1970s raise questions about his musical future. Yet, as Kenny explains, it was precisely this soul-searching that led him to a new direction on his own in Nashville. Telling the stories that have become legends in a town that's seen many of them, he recalls the making of his career in country music and his most memorable songs, including "Lucille", "The Gambler", "Lady", and "Islands in the Stream". Along the way, he shares the friendships, both big and small, that have meant the most to him, describing the good times he's had with Dottie West, Lionel Richie, and, of course, Dolly Parton, and how through it all he continues to make music with the passion that has defined him from the start.

Staring across the decades, Kenny writes a story seemingly straight from one of his songs. The end result is a rollicking ride through fifty years of music history, which offers a heartwarming testament to a time when country music wasn't just a brand but a way of life.

Members Reviews:

Lovely

If you could sum up Luck or Something Like It in three words, what would they be?

Grounded, driven, and nice!

What did you like best about this story?

This is the lovely story of a very lovely man. I was never into country music, but after listening to Kenny Rogers's life story, I am intrigued enough to try and find out. He comes through as a very down-to-earth, hardworking, but extremely driven person who doesn't take himself too seriously.

What about Taber Burnss performance did you like?

His voice has none of the annoying nasality of some of the other narrators, and he does a good job conveying the emotion as well as the content of the story.

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

Definitely. I wish more memoirs were this fun and frank.

loved it Kenny.

loved it, narrator was the greatest. Have loved Kenny's voice & music all my life.

If you like Kenny Rogers you will like this book

Interesting Listen - The performance was very good and the story was OK. Nothing earth shattering here but overall it was entertaining.

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Title: Focus

Subtitle: The Secret, Sexy, Sometimes Sordid World of Fashion Photographers

Author: Michael Gross

Narrator: Kirby Heyborne

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-16-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Before Instagram was an art form, fashion photographers were pop culture royalty. From the postwar covers of Vogue until the triumph of the digital image, the fashion photographer sold not only clothes but ideals of beauty and fantasies of perfect lives. Even when they succumbed to temptation and excess, the very few photographers who rose to the top were artists above all.

In his follow-up to the New York Times best-selling Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women, Michael Gross probes the lives, hang-ups, and artistic triumphs of more than a dozen of fashion photography's greatest visionaries: Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Melvin Sokolsky, Bert Stern, David Bailey, Bill King, Gilles Bensimon, Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Corinne Day, Bob and Terry Richardson, and more. From Avedon's haute couture fantasies and telling portraits to Weber's sensual, intimate, and heroic slices of life, and from Bob Richardson's provocations to his son Terry's transgressions, Gross takes listeners behind the scenes and reveals the revolutionary creative processes and fraught private passions of these visionary magicians.

Members Reviews:

Absolutely superb

Where does Focus rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

This is one of the best non-fiction books I've heard in recent memory.

What does Kirby Heyborne bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

There is no disconnect between the reading and the book itself, I often felt as if the author were speaking to me.

Any additional comments?

If you are interested in fashion photography or the history of fashion, this book is peerless. Like taking a grad school course from the best kind of professor. Brilliantly designed, researched, written and framed. I finished and immediately listened to it twice more. Inspiring, educational, fascinating on a human level as well as on a historical level. So many stories here, and the author has tied them together in such a perfectly choreographed manner. If this falls anywhere in your area of interest, I highly recommend.

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Title: Unmasked

Subtitle: The Final Years of Michael Jackson

Author: Ian Halperin

Narrator: Richard Allen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-27-09

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Whatever the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Friends and associates paint a tragic picture of the last years and days of his life as Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for a planned concert series at London's O2 Arena in July 2009. These shows would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but he could never have completed them, not mentally and not physically.

Michael knew it, and his advisers knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. Why did it happen this way?

After an intense five-year investigation, Halperin uncovers the real story of Michael Jackson's final years, a suspenseful and surprising thriller.

Members Reviews:

Save your money

This book made me wish we could return audiobooks for a refund. It should have been called "Michael Jackson May Be Weird But He Isn't A Pedophile - Really!" We hear a lot about the molestation charges but not much else...except, that is, for The Adventures of Ian Halperin, Undercover Journalist Extraordinaire! Ian goes undercover inside the Church of Scientology! Ian becomes BFFs with Ava Gardner! Ian smokes pot with Liza Minnelli! Ian gets hit on by Michael Jackson in a pizza parlor! The book even begins with Ian's feelings about the alleged child molestation that Jackson was charged with. Combine the Ian-centric narrative (a big fat journalistic no-no) with a glaring lack of fact-checking and a lot of unsupported innuendo (Michael was gay! Michael wanted to die! Mysterious "unnamed sources" said so!), and you get...well, you get a waste of $12 and 9 hours, is what you get. Richard Allen is mediocre as the narrator, and I confess to gritting my teeth every time he changed accents to read the alleged words of, for example, a gay French porn star, a Latina maid, or Jackson himself. Don't even bother with this waste of time and money...I wish I hadn't.

First Title I've Ever Asked for a Refund

The narrator sounds like he's learning to read outloud. Awful.

Don't waste your credit!

This was rubish. Ian had an axe to grind with Michael Jackson, and he filed it down to the wood with this book. A lot of time was spent on the reading of court transcripts verbatim from Jackson's trial, what easy way to waste ink and make a buck at the same time. Save your credit, this book is a waste of time. I skipped through it after a point while thinking how foolish I was to waste my money on it.

Lies

Most of the "facts" in this book are straight out lies. Don't waste your time.

listen to preview first!

oh, how I wish I would have listened to the preview first! the narrator's voice is so

melodramatic and nauseating! yikes! i want a refund!

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Title: The Authorized Roy Orbison

Subtitle: The Authorized Biography

Author: Alex Orbison, Jeff Slate, Roy Orbison, Wesley Orbison

Narrator: Roy Orbison, Wesley Orbison, Alex Orbison

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-17

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

For the first time, legendary performer Roy Orbison's story as one of the most beloved rock legends will be revealed through family accounts and records.

Roy Orbison is a rock and roll icon almost without peer. He came of age as an artist on the venerable Sun Records label; toured with The Beatles; had massive hits in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s; invented the black-clad, sunglasses-wearing image of the rock star; and reinvented the art of songwriting many times over. He is a member of the Rock & Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame, a recipient of the Musicians Hall of Fame's inaugural Iconic Riff Award, and the winner of multiple Grammy Awards. He is known the world over for hits like "Blue Bayou", "You Got It", and "Oh, Pretty Woman" and was a member of the band that inspired the term "supergroup" - the Traveling Wilburys, with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty. Despite these and countless other accolades, the story of Roy Orbison's life is virtually unknown to his millions of fans around the world. Now, for the first time ever, the Orbison Estate, headed by Roy's sons, Wesley, Roy Jr., and Alex Orbison, has set out to set the record straight.

The Authorized Roy Orbison tells the epic tale of a West Texas boy, drawn to the guitar at age six, whose monumental global career successes were matched at nearly every turn by extraordinary personal tragedies, including the loss of his first wife in a motorcycle accident and his two oldest sons in a fire. It's a story of the intense highs and severe lows that make up the mountain range of Roy Orbison's career, one that touched four decades and ended abruptly at perhaps its highest peak, when he passed away at the age of 52 on December 6, 1988.

The Authorized Roy Orbison shows Roy Orbison as a young child and follows him all the way through to the peak of his stardom and up to his tragic end. Wesley, Roy Jr., and Alex Orbison - Roy's Boys - have left no stone unturned in order to illustrate the people, places, things, and events that forged their father, the man behind those famous sunglasses.

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

Members Reviews:

A touching and a wonderful story

The book gave a warm and factual recall of the Legands life! enjoyed readibg it!

Thanks, Roy's Boys

I have been a long-time fan of Orbison, even though I was very young when he left us. With this book - authored and read by Roy's boys - I feel like I got a true glimpse into the life of the man behind the shades. The performance and mixing of clips of Orbison's songs into the audiobook were great treats. The highs and lows of a true artist and gentleman are told with great sincerity and genuine affection in this book. Thanks, Roy's boys.

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Title: Far and Near

Subtitle: On Days Like These

Author: Neil Peart

Narrator: Brian Sutherland

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-29-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Whether navigating the backroads of Louisiana or Thuringia, exploring the snowy Quebec woods, or performing onstage at Rush concerts, Neil Peart has stories to tell. His first volume in this series, Far and Away, combined words and images to form an intimate, insightful narrative that won many fans. Now Far and Near brings together reflections from another three years of an artist's life as he celebrates seasons, landscapes, and characters; travels roads and trails; receives honors; climbs mountains; and composes and performs music. With passionate insight, wry humor, and an adventurous spirit, once again Peart offers a collection of open letters that take listeners on the road, behind the scenes, and into the inner workings of an ever-inquisitive mind. These popular stories, originally posted on Peart's website, are now collected and contextualized with an introduction and conclusion.

Members Reviews:

Entertaining but need pictures!

As expensive as audiobooks are you would think that you would get a companion eBook with pictures for free. The entire book refers to photographs which you can't see if you do not pay $13.00 for the companion book. If it wasn't for how enjoyable the narrator was I'd just get the print version.

Smooth Flowing. Very similar to Far and Away

The story flowed smoothly and once again Brian Sutherland did a excellent job.

Although, if you've read/listened to Far and Away you can expect almost the same story being told.

Ghost Rider is still the best.

Not my Favorite but I liked it.

Not my favorite book of his thus far, but I did enjoy it very much. By no means a bad book, but just compared to some other the others.

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Title: The Wedding

Author: Alphie McCourt

Narrator: Alphie McCourt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

"Jews and Irish Catholics did not often marry each other in the 1970s. Lynn and I did. A few mishaps, an AWOL rabbi, a long delay and a riotous reception, all combined for a hugely memorable day."

Members Reviews:

A short make that is a tale of the wedding between an Irish Catholic and a Jew in the 1970's.

Heard THE WEDDING (Hachette Audio) by Alphie McCourt . . . it's a short--make that very short--tale of the wedding between the author, an Irish Catholic, and Jew in the 1970s . . . this did not happen very often back then . . . even making the occasion more memorable was the fact that there were a few mishaps, an AWOL rabbi, and long delay and a riotous reception . . . it was funny for what it was; i.e., a brief slice out of the author's life.

This apparently is an audible book that can only be purchased online . . . the $1.95 price is cheap enough; however, it is only 16 minutes in length, and if you wanted to make a purchase, I'd recommend considering A LONG STONE'S THROW, also by the McCourt. . . I'm pretty sure that is where this tale comes from . . . and a lot more details about his life.

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Title: A Train Through Time

Subtitle: A Life, Real and Imagined

Author: Elizabeth Farnsworth

Narrator: Elizabeth Farnsworth

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-17

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

How much of our memory is constructed by imagination? And how does memory shape our lives? As a nine-year old, Elizabeth Farnsworth struggled to understand the loss of her mother. On a cross-country trip with her father, the heartsick child searches for her mother at train stations along the way. Even more, she confronts mysteries: death, time, and a mysteriously locked compartment on the train.

Weaving a child's experiences with memories from reporting in danger zones like Cambodia and Iraq, Farnsworth explores how she came to cover mass death and disaster. While she never breaks the tone of a curious investigator, she easily moves between her nine-year-old self and the experienced journalist. Imagination is at play in her childhood adventures and in her narrative control, always with great purpose. She openly confronts the impact of her childhood on the route her life has taken. And, as she provides one beautifully crafted depiction after another, we share her journey, coming to know the acclaimed reporter as she discovers herself. Farnsworth's curiosity lingers though every minute of A Train through Time: A Life, Real and Imagined, and so does the making of a powerfully driven woman.

Members Reviews:

A delightful read

I really liked this book. The author tells some very interesting stories. The parts about her childhood (some true and some fictional) are well done and quite sentimental. The parts about her assignments for PBS are incredible, educational, and sometimes heartbreaking. Really worth reading.

A Journey from Kansas to a war torn world

It is a thought provoking, almost poetic exploration of loss and risk. Thank you for this honest journey.

Intriguing hybrid memoir

A fascinating, complicated, and beautifully written memoir in which Farnsworth looks at key moments from her years reporting in various countries, periods with intense political and historical implications, and finds a way to capture the emotional core of these moments in a way that is very personal. Equally compelling is the baseline story that runs through the book, of the train trip that she took as a child with her father, traveling from Kansas to San Francisco and covering terrain that is heartbreaking, compelling, and surprising (for both writer and reader).

Great disappointment. The two time sections never linked thematically

Great disappointment. The two time sections never linked thematically; the "adult" journalist so sketchy not revealing at all. And it turns out the best part of the "train" section was a fiction in what is supposed to be a memoir.

Interesting mix of fact and fiction

This was a very quick read. It only took me a few hours. But they were a very interesting few hours. I loved the book. The author draws from her own experiences (It's semi-autobiographical) and mixes it with fictional of events of her characters lives.Passed it on to my Mother right away.

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Title: Leni

Subtitle: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl

Author: Steven Bach

Narrator: Henrietta Tiefenthaler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-07

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

We see Riefenstahl at the age of 100 as someone who could face the cameras to announce that, as a member of Greenpeace, she mourned the fates of sea creatures that die in transport from their native habitats to the aquariums of the world, but could not express remorse for the millions of Jews, gypsies, and others murdered by the Third Reich and the Fuhrer she elevated to myth.

Critic Reviews:

"A lively, incisive look at a compelling and somewhat appalling figure who demonstrated that beauty isn't always truth." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Good book bad narrator

I liked the book but I had trouble with the narrator. I am not sure what type of accent she has or if she has any training for speaking but it seemed to me she was awful. I struggled to understand her in some places and she mispronounces many common english words. She detracts from the story. I am not sure what qualifications she brought to the job as at least as an english speaker she is lacking.

Disappointing Narrator

I was looking forward to this audio release after seeing positive reviews of the book. After several hours of listening, I find the book to be interesting but the quality of the narration to be terrible. The reader, Henrietta Tiefenthaler, is by a wide margin the single the weakest reader I've heard (and I've listened to more than a hundred titles). Her voice sounds entirely untrained, words are mispronounced, and it often sounds like the reader can't "get her mouth fully around the words". A big disappointment -- listen to an excerpt before purchasing if you can.

LISTEND TO THE FIRST 3 MINUTES AND HAD ENOUGH

This book wasnt for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

A deaf person may enjoy this book..

Would you recommend Leni to your friends? Why or why not?

horrible narrator with accent too harsh for a long book..

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Henrietta Tiefenthaler?

she is horrible.

Any additional comments?

Avoid this book

Leni biography

For years I wanted to know more about her life every since I saw her life story on the show Biography . This book answered all of my questions .