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

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Title: Strange Beautiful Music

Subtitle: A Musical Memoir

Author: Joe Satriani, Jake Brown

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 74 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Oft-hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of his generation, living guitar legend Joe Satriani has long transcended stylistic boundaries with a sound that raises the bar like a new horizon for the broader genre of instrumental guitar rock. Joe's six-string secrets have astounded listeners around the world for nearly 30 years.

In Strange Beautiful Music: A Musical Memoir, Satriani and coauthor, music biographer Jake Brown, take fans on their first authorized tour of the story behind his climb to stardom and the creative odyssey involved in writing and recording a storied catalog of classics, including "Surfing with the Alien", "Summer Song", "Satch Boogie", "Always With Me, Always With You", "The Extremist", "Flying in a Blue Dream", "Crowd Chant", and more.

Featuring exclusive, firsthand interviews with Satriani, Strange Beautiful Music offers a unique look inside the studio with Joe, giving fans a chance to get up close and personal like never before. With insider details about his collaboration with multi-platinum supergroup Chickenfoot, exclusive interviews with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, commentary from fellow guitar legends such as Steve Vai, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Primus' Larry LaLonde, and legendary music producers, including Glynn Johns and the late Andy Johns, this memoir offers a rare inside look for die-hard Satriani fans, guitar enthusiasts, and anyone who loves to rock.

Strange Beautiful Music features music performed by the author. Included throughout the audiobook are samples of some of Satriani's most memorable songs.

Critic Reviews:

"Joe has refined his own style of playing to a point where he's forever up there in the stratosphere of excellence that is reached by very few musicians." (Brian May)

Members Reviews:

Very good

I was hoping for more details about his day-to-day life . The narration going back-and-forth from different guys and different voices was not enjoyable.

I wish he would've read it himself.

Inspiring

Bands I loved, I found out, were taught by Satch. Hearing his music inspired me to play guitar as well as want took know more about music and its creation. This book gives you his history, writing and recording style. Musical philosophy and insight. His Co creators and friends give great details about him, his gear and his creative process. I'll be listening to it again and again. I'm so happy this is available!

So much fun! And probably the BEST narrator ever!

Where does Strange Beautiful Music rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Among the best. As a massive Satriani fan, it's so satisfying to know the most obscure and intimate details about Joe's music-making. If you're a Satch or even a guitar fan, do not miss this book. Invaluable!

What did you like best about this story?

So many interesting stories and details about his music and most importantly, his **vision** about music.

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Title: The Unknown Henry Miller

Subtitle: A Seeker in Big Sur

Author: Arthur Hoyle

Narrator: Jonathan Yen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-04-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 21 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Henry Miller was one of the most distinctive voices in twentieth-century literature. Better known in Europe than in his native America for most of this career, he achieved international success and celebrity during the 1960s when his banned "Paris" books - beginning with Tropic of Cancer - were published here and judged by the Supreme Court not to be obscene. Until then he had toiled in relative obscurity and poverty. The Unknown Henry Miller recounts Miller's career from its beginnings in Paris in the 1930s but focuses on his years living in Big Sur, California, from 1944 to 1961, during which he wrote many of his most important books, including The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy, married and divorced twice, raised two children, painted watercolors, and tried to live out an aesthetic and personal credo of self-realization.

Written with the cooperation of the Henry Miller, Anais Nin, and other estates, The Unknown Henry Miller quotes extensively from Miller's correspondence in order to offer the listener direct experience of the author and man. It also draws on material not available to previous biographers, including interviews with Lepska Warren, Miller's third wife, and revelations from unpublished portions of Anais Nin's diaries. Behind the "bad boy" image, the author finds a man with devoted friendships, whose challenge of literary sexual taboos was part of a broader assault on the dehumanization of man and commercialization during the postwar years. He puts Miller's alleged misogyny in the context of his satire of sexual mores in general, and makes the case for restoring this groundbreaking writer to his rightful place in the American literary canon.

Members Reviews:

In-depth on the 2nd major phase of Miller's career

Really enjoyed this book. I have given it five stars overall mostly because this book fills a significant gap in the literature and I don't know of any other like it. Most bios of Miller concentrate heavily on his early life in Brooklyn and Manhattan and the first phase of his career in Paris, when he wrote the three sensational books that made him famous. Understandable enough, but the bulk of his work was composed outside Paris, mostly in Big Sur, from about 1940 to about 1960, and I would argue that these later works are at least equally important, and perhaps even more important, than the earlier works. This biography finally gives this second phase its due. It also tells, in brief, the story of how the Tropics ended up getting published by Grove Press and the trials and tribulations that brought into Miller's life, replacing his previous problem of not-enough-money-ever with the opposite problem of too-much-money-at-once. Miller's final years in Pacific Palisades are summed up in a single chapter, which is also appropriate, since Miller effectively retired from writing in his late 60s, pursued watercolor painting almost exclusively to his death, and led a fairly settled life compared to the previous years.

I gave story four stars because the writing is very slightly repetitive, giving the same information several times as if the chapters were written to be read as stand-alone articles.

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Title: While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Subtitle: The Music of George Harrison

Author: Simon Leng

Narrator: Simon Leng

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-14

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 37 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Far from being "the quiet one," George Harrison was a writer and arranger of terrific power and beauty, and his guitar playing was fundamental to the Beatles' sound and success. Now fully revised and expanded, this new edition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison is the most comprehensive evaluation of George Harrison's musical career ever published.

Treating each of Harrison's songs with unprecedented analysis, author Simon Leng reveals Harrison's eclectic approach from teenage Nashville twang through Indian raga, psychedelia, gospel, soul, and pure pop and thoroughly defines Harrison's role in the Beatles. First-hand accounts of the Concert for Bangladesh and the making of All Things Must Pass take the reader deep into the most fertile and controversial periods of Harrison's long solo career that culminated with Brainwashed.

Enhanced with insights from key figures who worked closely with Harrison throughout his extraordinary career, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is a remarkably stirring study and portrait of a great artist whose musical and spiritual quest changed the lives of millions of people around the world while redefining popular music and rock 'n' roll.

Members Reviews:

Essential Harrison

What did you love best about While My Guitar Gently Weeps?

The author rolls back the long shadows cast by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and reveals George Harrison to be an artist and composer of the first rank.

What was one of the most memorable moments of While My Guitar Gently Weeps?

When the author tips us off to some of George's lesser-known gems, including "Long, Long, Long," "The Inner Light," "Your Love is Forever," and "Deep Blue."

Have you listened to any of Simon Lengs other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but he does a good job. He certainly knows his subject--and the music scene.

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

Few books about the Beatles accord Harrison the respect he deserves as a composer. Leng's book does so--and that makes it necessary and important.

Any additional comments?

For George Harrison fans, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is essential reading

Wonderful tribute to an underestimated musician

Where does While My Guitar Gently Weeps rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

It is better than average

What was one of the most memorable moments of While My Guitar Gently Weeps?

Too many to name

Have you listened to any of Simon Lengs other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Any additional comments?

This is the best in-depth look at George Harrison's MUSIC-not his ex Beatle history- that Ive heard or read. Harrison's spiritual opus, All Things Must Pass is still relevant today, almost 45 years after it was recorded. Leng goes through every detail of ATMP, but he also follows Harrison into the 1990's and delves deeply into his more current tunes as well as his last concert. It is very evident that Leng is quite a Harrison fan. A great audio book for lovers of Harrison's music, wit and infinite compassion.

As an aside, one reviewer states that Leng is a horrible narrator.

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Title: My Life in Middlemarch

Author: Rebecca Mead

Narrator: Kate Reading

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-28-14

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 142 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A New Yorker writer revisits the seminal book of her youth - Middlemarch - and fashions a singular, involving story of how a passionate attachment to a great work of literature can shape our lives and help us to read our own histories.

Rebecca Mead was a young woman in an English coastal town when she first read George Eliot's Middlemarch,regarded by many as the greatest English novel. After gaining admission to Oxford and moving to the United States to become a journalist, through several love affairs, then marriage, and family, Mead read and reread Middlemarch. The novel, which Virginia Woolf famously described as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people," offered Mead something that modern life and literature did not.

In this wise and revealing work of biography, reportage, and memoir, Rebecca Mead leads us into the life that the book made for her, as well as the many lives the novel has led since it was written. Employing a structure that deftly mirrors that of the novel, My Life in Middlemarch takes the themes of Eliot's masterpiece - the complexity of love, the meaning of marriage, the foundations of morality, and the drama of aspiration and failure - and brings them into our world. Offering both a fascinating reading of Eliot's biography and an exploration of the way aspects of Mead's life uncannily echo that of the author herself, My Life in Middlemarch is for every ardent lover of literature who cares about why we read books, and how they read us.

Critic Reviews:

"The wonderful Kate Reading is the ideal narrator for this quintessentially British audiobook. She's a master of intonation and offers the most lovely of accents to enliven this unusual text." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

A Reader's Pleasure!

I haven't actually finished this book but I decided to write a review because I am enjoying it so much. I look often to see how many people have left reviews for books while I am reading them because I like to know if others have had the same experience.

In this case there don't seem to be many Audible readers so far, and I don't find the Amazon reviews very satisfying since the quality of the narrator is such an important part of the experience for me.

From the minute I read about this book's publication I have wanted to read it. I loved reading 'Middlemarch' many years ago and recently listened to the Juliet Stevenson audible version (highly recommended). For many years the book had intimidated me when I was young - I was afraid I would not be able to get through its density. I was quire surprised one day to pick it up and fall right in. Yet it took me thirty years to return to it. Having heard so recently the wonderful Juliet Stevenson narration It seemed perfect timing to experience someone else's experience of the book.

I find this sort of literary reflection both interesting and rewarding because I really like to know how others experience books I have loved. I would like so much to discuss these sorts of topics with serious readers and I hope that others will read this book and take the time to reflect on their impressions. As I am listening to Mead's book I feel like I am enclosed in a comfortable armchair, encompassed in my reading the way I was as a child, even though I am in reality sitting on an uncomfortable New Jersey Transit banquette.

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Title: Knitting Yarns

Subtitle: Writers on Knitting

Author: Ann Hood (editor

Narrator: Ann Hood, Sam Adrain

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-07-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 139 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A collection of poignant essays about the transformative power of knitting by twenty-seven extraordinary writers.

The impressive collection of writers here have contributed essays that celebrate knitting and knitters. They share their knitting triumphs and disasters as well as their life triumphs and disasters. . . . These essays will break your heart. They will have you laughing out loud. (Ann Hood, from the introduction)

Why does knitting occupy a place in the hearts of so many writers? Whats so magical and transformative about yarn and needles? How does knitting help us get through life-changing events and inspire joy?

In Knitting Yarns, twenty-seven writers tell stories about how knitting healed, challenged, or helped them to grow.

Barbara Kingsolver describes sheering a sheep for yarn. Elizabeth Berg writes about her frustration at failing to knit. Ann Patchett traces her life through her knitting, writing about the scarf that knits together the women shes loved and lost. Knitting a Christmas gift for his blind aunt helped Andre Dubus III knit an understanding with his girlfriend. Kaylie Jones finds the woman who used knitting to help raise her in France and heals old wounds. Sue Grafton writes about her passion for knitting. Also included are five original knitting patterns created by Helen Bingham.

Poignant, funny, and moving, Knitting Yarns is sure to delight knitting enthusiasts and lovers of literature alike.

Members Reviews:

Love it!!!!

Comforting, funny, thought provoking & just simply a good book. I never read a book about knitting. I didn't know what to expect. I'm glad I got it.

Not an inspiring book for an experienced knitter

What would have made Knitting Yarns better?

Better choice of short stories. Better narration.

Has Knitting Yarns turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Lugubrious intonation

You didnt love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Would appeal to people who are beginning knitters.

Great book!

I fell in love with this book, very fun while I knitted up a sweater. I found the male reader though very irritating maybe it's just me but his voice really bothered me, other than that I loved the book!!

so sweet

This book is so enjoyable. The authors really bear their souls and it's so fun to listen to their differences and similarities. I'm a young knitter, and I so enjoyed and appreciated the essays written by older women about knitting in war time and about knitting because they had to, not because it was a hobby. If you appreciate the solidarity of crafters and the community of yarn horders you'll love this book.

inspirational!

As a fairly new knitter, the stories were encouraging, enlightening and inspirational! The types of yarn, the levels of knitting; everything was great!

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Title: Little Failure

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Gary Shteyngart

Narrator: Jonathan Todd Ross

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-07-14

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 276 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

After three acclaimed novels - The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Absurdistan, and Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart turns to memoir in a candid, witty, deeply poignant account of his life so far.

Shteyngart shares his American immigrant experience, moving back and forth through time and memory with self-deprecating humor, moving insights, and literary bravado. The result is a resonant story of family and belonging that feels epic and intimate and distinctly his own. Provocative, hilarious, and inventive, Little Failure reveals a deeper vein of emotion in Gary Shteyngart' s prose. It is a memoir of an immigrant family coming to America, as told by a lifelong misfit who forged from his imagination an essential literary voice and, against all odds, a place in the world.

Critic Reviews:

"Jonathan Todd Ross had to meet quite a challenge while narrating Shteyngart's memoir filled with humor, sarcasm, self-deprecation, and personal triumphs - and succeed he does in representing the author with pizzazz." (

AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

did not do much for me

I bought this on recommendation from Audible based on my liking of Sedaris, Rakoff, and Ronsen. I find these books best when the authors are the narrators. Ross' voice seemed to mimic what I would imagine the author to sound like, so I'm not sure if it was the narration or just the story itself that failed to captivate me. I just didn't find it that humorous and it was so boring that I couldn't even finish it.

Wrong narrator for this book

If I could have rated only the narrator, I would have liked to. I could not take his overly theatric narration, so I gave up after a few chapters. It's therefore unfair for me to rate the story and writing since I'm sure I would love the book with a more appropriate reader. Google informs me this narrator is primarily a voice artist for children's animated films, and that makes total sense. Too much emoting from my earbuds.

So I still need to read this book.

I loved this book - funny, sad, all that nonsense

What made the experience of listening to Little Failure the most enjoyable?

My personal identification with the author.

What other book might you compare Little Failure to and why?

Davis Sedaris works.

What about Jonathan Todd Rosss performance did you like?

It was good, but would have preferred the author's own voice. JTR sounded distinctly un-Jewish and un-New Yorker

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

this is a dumb question

Exorcising his demons doesn't make a good book.

This is an immigrant story without charm, a coming-of-age story without charm, a father-son conflict that made me cringe, and cringe again. The author writes about his struggle to define himself as an individual while caught in the heavy net of overbearing parents, the immigrant culture of his NYC neighborhood, the pull of his mother country, and the desire to be American. It's mildly interesting, but lacking a strong climax or even an intense focus to really pull you into the author's journey.

Good memoir... Good story...

Great performance.. Could do without the effort for fake Russian accents. Would have been better straight up English, without the poor attempts at foreign accents. They all sound like bad variations of Dracula.

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Title: Eminent Hipsters

Author: Donald Fagen

Narrator: Donald Fagen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-22-13

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 59 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A witty, revealing, sharply written work of memoir and criticism by the cofounder of Steely Dan.

Musician and songwriter Donald Fagen presents a group of vivid set pieces in his entertaining debut as an author, from portraits of the cultural figures and currents that shaped him as a youth to an account of his college days and of life on the road.

Fagen begins by introducing the "eminent hipsters" that spoke to him as he was growing up in a bland New Jersey suburb in the early 1960s, among them Jean Shepherd, whose manic nightly broadcasts out of WOR-Radio "enthralled a generation of alienated young people"; Henry Mancini, whose swank, noirish soundtracks left their mark on him; and Mort Fega, the laid-back, knowledgeable all-night jazz man at WEVD who was like "the cool uncle you always wished you had."

Acclaimed for the elaborate arrangements and jazz harmonies of his songs, Fagen proves himself a sophisticated writer with a very distinctive voice in this engaging book.

Members Reviews:

Must-listen for Steely Dan or Donald Fagen fans

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you've ever wondered about Donald Fagan or Steely Dan's origins, this is the book for you! The fact that it is narrated by Fagen himself is a major bonus. While some might not care for the sound of his voice or his laconic manner, I found it to be integral to enjoying the text.

Fagen was born just a few years before me, but the touchpoints of his youth resonated with me. Listening to a transistor radio, transitioning through listening to different styles of music, etc.

As a former performing musician myself, I enjoyed hearing his tales of life on the road -- the good and the bad... well, mostly the bad. But even the bad is funny the way he tells it. Any musician who aspires to be famous enough to tour for a living (or whatever reason) should certainly listen to Fagen's story before getting too excited about what awaits them on the road.

What did you like best about this story?

The scope, from youth to Steely Dan reunion tours, and told by the man himself.

Have you listened to any of Donald Fagens other performances before? How does this one compare?

I'd only heard his music (recordings, radio, one live concert in 2013) and one radio interview. All great stuff, but don't pass over this audiobook.

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

I listened while commuting. Most audiobooks are way too long to even contemplate sitting or even listening to for 10-30 hours.

Any additional comments?

Buy this audiobook!

Great book!

Half of one of my favorite bands talks about his life and touring! Fun listen!

great book for fans

I have loved Steely Dan for decades as well as Donald Fagan. This book shed great light into more of who he is and how he thinks, something I appreciate very much. keep the writing coming Donald...but perhaps first find the cure for ATD and PTD

Hipster=misanthrope?

Inspired by a recent SD concert attendance I stumbled upon this and listened to it. A bonus is getting to listen DF himself read it. Don't be put off by the reviews that complain about DF complaining. It's not bad and is mostly pretty hilarious and spot on about some of the difficulties of business travel in general. The most interesting reading are the descriptions and insights into artistic and pop culture of the late 50s to mid 60s.

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Title: Torment Saint

Subtitle: The Life of Elliott Smith

Author: William Todd Schultz

Narrator: Travis Young

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-18-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 29 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Elliott Smith was one of the most gifted songwriters of the 90s, adored by fans for his subtly melancholic words and melodies. The sadness had its sources in life. There was trauma from an early age, years of drug abuse, and a chronic sense of disconnection that sometimes seemed self-engineered. Smith died violently in LA in 2003, under what some believe to be questionable circumstances, of stab wounds to the chest. By this time fame had found him, and record-buyers who shared the listening experience felt he spoke directly to them from beyond: astute, damaged, lovelorn, fighting, until he could fight no more. And yet, although his intimate lyrics carried the weight of truth, Smith remained unknowable.

In Torment Saint, William Todd Schultz gives us the first proper biography of the rock star, a decade after his death, imbued with affection, authority, sensitivity, and long-awaited clarity. Torment Saint draws on Schultz's careful, deeply knowledgeable readings and insights, as well as on more than 150 hours of interviews with close friends from Texas to Los Angeles, lovers, bandmates, music peers, managers, label owners, and recording engineers and producers. This audiobook unravels the remaining mysteries of Smith's life and his shocking, too early end. It will be, for Smith's legions of fans and listeners still discovering his songbook, an indispensable examination of his life and legacy.

Members Reviews:

Almost interesting, often overwrought, poorly read

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator.

What didnt you like about Travis Youngs performance?

Travis Young mispronounces a word every 2 or 3 sentences. It is annoying and takes me out of the story.

Any additional comments?

I am going to start asking for refunds for books read by semiliterate narrators.

Several books I downloaded recently had the same problem. Imagine if you bought a printed book that had a multiple typos on every page. Does anyone edit or check these things? Or, do they just turn on the recorder and use whatever comes out on the first take?

pronunciations

What did you like best about Torment Saint? What did you like least?

info is good but were they TRYING to mispronounce every name of every location in Portland? And the names? Jesus. It's like he went out of his way to mis pronounce. Like a weird condescending southern daddy

What was one of the most memorable moments of Torment Saint?

how he says OR-E-GON

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Travis Young?

someone who could say words correctly

Did Torment Saint inspire you to do anything?

be angry at the pronunciation

great book

This book describes in detail the troubles he had with drugs and relationships. I liked it more than the big nothing book. Seemed to have more info and more sources. Still, I recommend both books.

Narrator needs to take an English class.

Would you try another book from William Todd Schultz and/or Travis Young?

The writing was fine. And fairly thorough. Biographies are often hard to bring to life in the third person. But this one moves along fairly well.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator mispronounces words so often it becomes annoying. This is the first book in over 10 years that had this many mistakes in it.

Any additional comments?

Elliott Smith was an amazing songwriter and guitar player.

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Title: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 2

Author: Mark Twain

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 26 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-05-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 106 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Mark Twain's complete, uncensored Autobiography was an instant best seller when the first volume was published in 2010, on the centennial of the author's death, as he requested. Published to rave reviews, the Autobiography was hailed as the capstone of Twain's career. It captures his authentic and unsuppressed voice, speaking clearly from the grave and brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions.

The eagerly awaited second volume delves deeper into Twain's life, uncovering the many roles he played in his private and public worlds. Filled with his characteristic blend of humor and ire, the narrative ranges effortlessly across the contemporary scene. He shares his views on writing and speaking, his preoccupation with money, and his contempt for the politics and politicians of his day. Affectionate and scathing by turns, his intractable curiosity and candor are everywhere on view.

Members Reviews:

The way it should be done.

I purchased this with some small fear. Not about Twain's part of it but because the first volume was ballasted with way too much information about who the editors and compilers were and how clever they had been in editing and compiling the work. And in volume 1 it was all at the beginning of the book and of the chapters so at no time was it safe to use the guff blocker that is labelled "fast forward".

But this edition is done the way it should be done. Hoorah!!!! There is still some content about the editors and financial contributors, as I am sure is only fair. But it is all at the end. Hoorah Hoorah!! Puttng it there, where it belongs, means that as a listener you have been able to enjoy Twain's stream of consciousness after which you realise how much you should be grateful to the people in the credits section and are happy to listen to it and give them credit.

Grover Gardner is an inspired choice as narrator reading the material with inflection and style. Getting excited in the exciting bits and amused in the amusing bits. If anybody ever wants an example of how an audiobook should be performed then they shoulduse this as their guide.

As to the content - It's Twain - Just buy it.

Magnificent

I said this before, for the first volume of this book, and I'll say it again: this is an incredible act of generosity on everyone's part: the editors, the researchers, Twain himself, and especially (in the case of the audiobook) Grover Gardner. Gardner is one of the best Twain readers around - you won't go wrong with any of his performances of a Twain book - and listening to this is like sitting back, legs propped up, and hearing a garrulous old friend talk about his life. All that's missing are the cigar and the glass of brandy. (You'll have to supply those yourself, if you're so inclined.)

This volume has quite a bit to say about God, none of it particularly complimentary. It's no secret that there was no love lost between Mark Twain and God, or at least God as he conceived him to be: Twain's God has a lot of suffering to answer for, suffering that in Twain's opinion could easily have been avoided by a snap of the finger.

The second volume also has quite a bit to say about cats (Sour Mash was one of his favorites) and about his daughter Susy's biography of him, from which he quotes extensively.

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Title: Strings Attached

Subtitle: One Tough Teacher and the Gift of Great Expectations

Author: Joanne Lipman, Melanie Kupchynsky

Narrator: Kathleen McInerney, Eliza Foss

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-01-13

Publisher: Hyperion Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 20 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The Fine Art of Tough Love

If you're lucky, somewhere in your past is that one person who changed your life forever. The one who pushed you to dream bigger and to reach higher, and who set you straight on what matters in life. Perhaps it was a coach, or a professor, or a family friend.

For Joanne Lipman and Melanie Kupchynsky, that person was a public-school music teacher, Jerry Kupchynsky, known as Mr. K - a Ukrainian-born taskmaster who yelled and stomped and screamed, and who drove his students harder than anyone had ever driven them before. Through sheer force of will, he made them better than they had any right to be.

Strings Attached tells the inspiring, poignant, and powerful story of this remarkable man, whose life seemed to conspire against him at every turn and yet who was able to transform his own heartache into triumph for his students.

Lyrically recounted by two former students - acclaimed journalist Joanne Lipman and Mr. K's daughter, Chicago Symphony Orchestra violinist Melanie Kupchynsky - Strings Attached takes you on a journey that spans from his days as a forced Nazi laborer and his later home life as a husband to an invalid wife, to his heart-breaking search for his missing daughter, Melanie's sister.

This is an unforgettable tale - a captivating narrative that is as absorbing as fiction - about the power of a great teacher, but also about the legacy that remains long after the last note has faded into silence: lessons in resilience, excellence, and tough love.

Strings Attached is for anyone indebted to a mentor and for those devoted to igniting excellence in others.

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

Members Reviews:

A Must Read

Long before the world heard of "Tiger Moms", there was Mr. K. Before "No Child Left Behind", there was Mr K. And before Jaime Escalante, there was Mr K. A man who believed that every child could succeed if they worked hard enough. A teacher who did not reward mere attempts or give faint praise. A man who knew that failure was a critical part of learning and that students grew by overcoming their failures. A man who inspired his students to work harder than they ever thought possible, simply to hear the words "not bad". An educator who knew that success was its own reward and devoted himself to his students success. Now we call it "tough love". Back then, it was just Mr K.

Told alternately by his daughter, Melanie, and one of his former students, Joanne Lipman, Strings Attached is a loving, poignant, honest, often humorous portrait of the life of a teacher who survived multiple tragedies and who taught his students not only music, but also confidence, poise and how to succeed in life.

Strings Attached is a must for teachers, parents, and even students. But if nothing else, it is a darn good read.

"The gift of great expectations"

While I loved this poignant co-memoir and practically inhaled it in one sitting, my one regret is that the two authors seemed to have the same homogenized voice which I attribute to overly intrusive editing. In other words, the alternating chapters by Melanie (Mr.