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Title: Kabloona

Subtitle: Among the Inuit

Author: Gontran de Poncins

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-24-05

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 123 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

In the summer of 1938, the Frenchman Gontran de Poncins traveled beyond the "Barren Lands" north of the Arctic Circle to Kind William Island, an island of 10,000 square miles. The entire population of the island consisted of 25 Eskimos, their primitive lives untouched by the civilization of the white man.

For 15 months Gontran de Poncins lived among the Inuit people of the Arctic. He is at first appalled by their way of life: eating rotten raw fish, sleeping with each others' wives, ignoring schedules, and helping themselves to his possessions. But as de Poncins' odyssey continues, he is transformed from Kabloona, The White Man, an uncomprehending outsider, to someone who finds himself living, for a few short months, as Inuk: a man, preeminently.

Members Reviews:

Informative, thrilling, just great

I was looking for something specificly about the life of Eskimos, and I was lucky to find this title. Just what I wanted: a thorough account of a Westerner's journey into the Arctic, a detailed description of the Eskimo way of life and way of thinking, by a man who lived for 15 months as one of them, not just as a traveler. Not 1 superfluous word. Everything is informative, enriching, and very clearly written. The book is never boring. I also found it to be spiritually enlightening; an insight into a different outlook on life. The author visited the Eskimos in 1938 but I'd guess life in these regions has not changed much.

The narrator is also very good.

Great book!

Fascinating Adventure

I enjoyed every minute of this fascinating adventure. His attitude toward the Inuit is less than enlightened (which is not a surprise considering when it was written), but his descriptions of the people and their culture are unsurpassed and never dull or boring. You will want to drag out your map and track his adventure like I did.

Adventure at its best

I could not put this down. A fascinating tale that made me want to find out more about the author and the subject. The former has written other books thast I have now bought and read as a result of this talking book. A very well worthwhile listen!

Loved this book

The exploration of the inuit was fascinating, even if a little too graphic (guts and all) at times, but I really liked this and I don't often read this type of material. Worth every penny and makes up for the book "so called picked by audible experts list" where a book or choice is too often wasted.

Wonderfully relevant story!

I enjoyed every minute of this true story and feel it is very relevant despite being written so long ago. I particularly enjoyed seeing the author transition from someone who barely considered the Eskimo as human to someone who gained an understanding of their culture and ways and even began adopting their behaviors as his time among them increased.

With all our political correctness, this is a book that could never have been written today. We would not have been able to really know the whole journey of de Poincins, which is a requisite part of the story.

Very enjoyable and informative and I do recommend it!

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Title: Bat Boy

Subtitle: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees

Author: Matthew McGough

Narrator: Jason Harris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-20-05

Publisher: Books on Tape

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 43 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Miraculously, he got the job, and on April 7, 1992, Matt walked into the madness of the Yankee clubhouse on Opening Day. And there was Don Mattingly, Donnie Baseball himself, asking him to run an errand, an errand which soon induced panic in the rookie bat boy. Thus began two years of adventures and misadventures, from the perils of chewing tobacco while playing catch with the centerfielder, to being set up on a date by the bullpen, to studying for a history exam at 3:00 a.m. at Yankee Stadium, to his own folly as Matt gradually forgets he's not a baseball star, he's a high school student.

Bat Boy captures the lure and beauty of the American pastime, but much more it is a tale of what happens to a young man when his fondest dream comes true. Matthew McGough wonderfully evokes that twilight time just before adulthood, ripe with possibility, foolishness, and hard-won knowledge.

Critic Reviews:

"It is a pretty story, too, of a boy who made a dream come true and then remembered to live all the parts of it." (Booklist)

"Honest and self-effacing." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

80's Yankees Fans Will LOVE It!

What did you love best about Bat Boy?

Everything. Well written, moved along nicely, the narration (although it took a little while to get use to it) was great. Real stories about the NY Yankees that I grew up loving.

What did you like best about this story?

As a teenager at that time, I would have done anything to have that job!

What about Jason Harriss performance did you like?

He got more and more into it as the book went on.

Put on your cleats and sit next to Don Mattingly

This book had the wonderful aspect of taking me inside the real world of a Major League Baseball from a wide-eyed boy's view. Anybody that grew up a baseball fan will love imagining being in his shoes. I loved the baseball parts and even the parts about his life as a high school student burning the candle at both ends. There was a problem though, to me it seemed like the Publisher must have decided that the book was too short and needed more content. There is about 2 hrs of story (during the off-season) that deals with a financial scam the boy got into that really doesn't fit with the rest of the book. I would have rated the book higher had it not been for that.

Fun

This book was a fun jaunt through professional baseball from the eyes of a teenaged fan. An inside look at the players from a different viewpoint than usually heard. Well written and holds your interest throughout the book. I really enjoyed the read. You don't need to be a baseball fan to enjoy it.

A Gem

Intricate knowledge of how the Yankees clubhouse works is just a part of what you get from this fine young mans account of a great experience in his life. 2 summers alongside Yankees while in High School is every Bronx boys dream.

Wonderful fun

Even if you're not a sports fan (and I'm really not), this book is simply laugh out loud fun. Mr. McGough writes as if he's talking to you, and he writes well. The stories are funny, the characters are wonderful, and it made me want to find out if there were any jobs with the Yankees.

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Title: Holy Cow!

Subtitle: An Indian Adventure

Author: Sarah Macdonald

Narrator: Kate Hosking

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-13-05

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 773 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

But 11 years later, the prophecy comes true. When the love of Sarah's life is posted to India, she quits her dream job as a national radio presenter to follow him to the most polluted city on earth, New Delhi. It seems like the ultimate sacrifice for love and it almost kills her, literally.

Often hilarious, sometimes hair-raising, and always entertaining, Holy Cow is a rollercoaster ride through a land of chaos and contradiction, from spiritual retreats and crumbling nirvanas to war zones and New Delhi nightclubs, that only a woman on a mission to save her soul, her love life, and her sanity, can survive.

Critic Reviews:

"A lively, snappy travelogue." (Booklist)

"[Macdonald] brings a reporter's curiosity, interviewing skills, and eye for detail to everything she encounters, and winningly captures 'the drama, the dharma, the innocent exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the living, the piety in playfulness, and the embrace of living day by day'." (Publishers Weekly)

"Prepare for a fast-moving and masterful narration by Kate Hosking. Her characterization of the Indian characters is nuanced and fun. The contrast with the distinctive Australian accents of MacDonald and other ex-pats adds to the sense of adventure and excitement and provides a backdrop for spiritual understanding." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Inspiring and witty

After listening to this book, I have put India at the top of my "places to visit" list. I didn't realize the book would emphasize religion so much, but this had the unexpected side effect of making me feel as if I'd learned something in addition to enjoying Macdonald's hilarious accounts of her attempts to survive in and eventually master Indian culture.

a great listen!

I read this book prior to getting the audio and have to say that the audio made the book light-up like a Christmas tree! All the Hindu words and pronunciations were brought to life by the narrator, as well as doing a fine job on the author's emotional states as well.

I liked the book but loved the audiobook!

Fun and provocative portrait

This audiobook was delightful. The narrator did a terrific job with the variety of accents (Australian, Indian, American), and the pace was lively. I am not religious, but I enjoyed the thoughtful portrayal of the many religions observed in India. I also felt like I had a better understanding of the country and culture. I have met many Indian immigrants through school and work, and this book gave me some perspective on their life back at home. At times the author is a bit narcissistic, but her good humor and continuous pursuit of self knowledge balance it out.

Well Written and Well Read

Having been to India a number of times I found this book insightful, funny and honest. It's well written and well read making for a very enjoyable listen.

Wanderlust

I listen to this book when I wish I were travelling but don't have the time or money. The first chapter made me wonder what I had gotten myself into, as she rages about how much she hates India. If you can get past this you'll realize that this is to juxtapose next to the spiritual journey the author later undertakes to better understand where her hate and anger come from.

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Title: We Are All the Same

Subtitle: A Boy's Courage and a Mother's Love

Author: Jim Wooten

Narrator: Alan Sklar

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-17-05

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 100 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Five million more people contracted HIV last year alone. We've all seen the statistics, and they numb us; on some level our minds shut down to a catastrophe of this scope. As with other such immense human tragedies in the past, it can take the story of one special child's life to make us open our minds and our hearts.

While the majority of all AIDS cases occur in Africa, a South African boy named Nkosi Johnson did not become "an icon of the struggle for life", in Nelson Mandela's words, because he was representative but because he was so very remarkable. Everyone who met Nkosi Johnson was struck by his blinding life force, his powerful intelligence and drive, his determination to make something of his short life. By the time of his death, the work he had done in his 11 years on earth was such that The New York Times ran his obituary on the front page, as did many other papers, and tributes appeared on the evening news broadcasts of every major network.

Nkosi Johnson did not live to tell his own story, but one writer whose life he changed has taken up the work of telling it for him. In the hands of Jim Wooten, We Are All the Same is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit, even as it bears witness to the scope of the tragedy that is unfolding in Africa and around the world. Written with the brevity and power of a parable, We Are All the Same is a book that is meant to be read by all of us, of all ages and walks of life. Its beginning and ending are terribly sad, but in the middle is the extraordinarily inspiring story of a very unlucky little boy who said, "Never mind. I'm going to make my life matter." And he did.

Critic Reviews:

"This powerful account puts a human face on a catastrophic epidemic that grows worse daily." (Publishers Weekly) "Clear dramatic narrative that personalizes the apartheid politics as well as the present devastating statistics and the struggle against prejudice." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Inspirational and Insightful

This is one of those books you will not want to "put down." It tells how 11-year old Nkosi Johnson and his unofficially adoptive mother Gail struggle in the fight against AIDS, both within himself and across South Africa. Because of Gail's determination to help the poor victims of HIV/AIDS, she was able to open Nkosi's Haven, originally a single shelter for HIV-positive women and children that continues expanding and accommodating more each day. This book really opened my eyes about the extreme impact of AIDS on South Africa and other sub-Saharan countries and how education and acceptance goes a long way. The epidemic would be worse still in South Africa if Nkosi and Gail had not done more than their share in making others aware.

wanders to the end

I looked for this book after hearing an interview with the author on radio. The interview introduced the wonderful child this book is supposed to be about. He is in there if you can listen long enough for his part to emerge. I appreciate the author's insight into the AIDS epidemic but I wanted to hear the childs story and insights particularly. An abridged work might be less tedious.

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Title: Blood Done Sign My Name

Author: Timothy B. Tyson

Narrator: Timothy B. Tyson

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-20-04

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Like many small Southern towns, Oxford, North Carolina, had barely been touched by the civil rights movement. But in the wake of the killing, young African Americans took to the streets, led by 22-year-old Ben Chavis, a future president of the NAACP. While lawyers battled in the courthouse, the Ku Klux Klan raged in the shadows and black veterans torched the town's tobacco warehouses. With large sections of the town in flames, Tyson's father, the pastor of Oxford's all-white Methodist church, pressed his congregation to widen their vision of humanity. In the end, however, the Tyson family was forced to move away.

Years later, historian Tim Tyson returned to Oxford to ask Robert Teel why he and his sons had killed Henry Marrow. "That nigger committed suicide, coming in here wanting to four-letter-word my daughter-in-law," Teel explained. The black radicals who burned much of Oxford also told Tim their stories. "We knew if we cost 'em enough goddamn money they was gonna start changing some things," one of them explained.

In the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird, Blood Done Sign My Name is a classic work of conscience, a defining portrait of a time and place that we will never forget. Tim Tyson's riveting narrative of that fiery summer and one family's struggle to build bridges in a time of destruction brings gritty blues truth, soaring gospel vision, and down-home humor to our complex history, where violence and faith, courage and evil, despair and hope all mingle to illuminate America's enduring chasm of race.

Critic Reviews:

"Outstanding....Tyson's avoidance of stereotypes and simple answers brings a shameful recent era in our country's history to vivid life. This book deserves the largest possible audience." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Learned so much

Timothy Tyson's book "Blood Done Sign My Name" was a very interesting and thought provoking listen. I was surprised and shocked to hear some of the details of the murder and attitude of people in Oxford North Carolina. Parts of it reminded me of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird". Considering that Lee was writing about the 1930's and Tyson's story happened in the 1970's showed just how little had changed in 40 years. Even more disheartening was to hear that historical sites in North Carolina still don't talk about what happened to many of the blacks who gave their lives to the land and died in the cause of freedom. The prejudice of many of the people was hard for me to understand but I feel I learned so much listening to this book.

Dickie's family and friends may not have got justice from the courts but they may take some comfort in knowing that because of Tyson's book he won't be forgotten.

Excellent!

It was such a good listening with the author reading the book. Clear, enjoyable, and easy to listen to. I have an advantage knowing the author but it "read" like I expected it to - as if Mr Tyson was sitting in the same room reading to me. Powerful story.

Well Written; Well Read

The story pivots from the death of black victim Dickie Marrow.

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Title: Survive

Subtitle: Stories of Castaways and Cannibals (Unabridged Selections)

Author: Edited by Nate Hardcastle, Clint Willis

Narrator: Nick Sampson, Colleen Delany, Erik Synnestvedt, Gary Telles

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-23-03

Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The accounts in this audiobook exist because people endured their miserable circumstances - they survived. Their stories remind us that while suffering is part of life, so is deliverance.

Critic Reviews:

"Listen & Live's Adrenaline Series is one of the best in the genre." (The Denver Post) "Listen & Live Audio's new series will take your breath away and send your heart racing." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Excellent Stories

Would you listen to Survive again? Why?

Yes. These are very dynamic stories that have been abbreviated and really "cut to the chase" of the best parts!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Survive?

The Donner party author's father was found alive.

What about the narratorss performance did you like?

Narrator had an excellent ability to express proper emotion with each story.

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

I was very "moved" by the end of the journey for the survivors of the Chilean rugby team after their lengthy ordeal with survival and cannibalism in the Andes Mountains.

Any additional comments?

I've read nearly all of the more detailed and lengthy versions, but I also highly recommend listening to these short stories.

Review

This work, mainly composed of B-list, pseudo-historical stories by B-list authors (Melville, of course, excluded) is slow, mismatched and tedious. The stories are maybe the equivalent of bed stories, though there slowness may cause the reader before the child to fall asleep.

Disappointing

I agree with Ryan. This book seemed like nothing more than a collection of uncopyrighted material taken from writings by people who've gone through hard times. Moreover, parts of it are in old English. Disappointing.

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Title: Report from Engine Co. 82

Author: Dennis Smith

Narrator: Lloyd James

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-02-03

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 101 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Report from Engine Co. 82 is the story of one company of New York firefighters battling unimaginable death and destruction every day. Dennis Smith worked as a firefighter in the South Bronx, New York City, and the graphic detail and gripping prose of this firefighting classic drives the most important, accomplished, terrifying audiobook ever published on firefighting. This book struck a nerve within the nation when it was first published 30 years ago. In our troubled times, it gains even greater resonance for those trying to make sense of the deaths of so many New York firefighters on September 11, and for those inspired by the tireless work of firefighters and other rescue personnel in the aftermath of the destruction. Dennis Smith describes the bravery, heroism, camaraderie, and unflinching courage of New York's bravest, demonstrating how firefighters everywhere have become the most respected of American heroes.

©1972 Dennis Smith; (P)2002 HighBridge Company

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: The Camera My Mother Gave Me

Author: Susanna Kaysen

Narrator: Susanna Kaysen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-16-02

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The title comes from Luis Bunuel's film Viridiana. Some peasants are at a banquet in a country mansion. They ask a maid to take a group snapshot, and she obliges, lifting up her skirt and using the "camera" that's underneath.

Kaysen's The Camera My Mother Gave Me observes what happens when sexual pleasure is replaced by pain. "When eros goes away," she writes, "it's as if I'm colorblind. The world is gray." But is this a problem of body, or mind? And can clinicians tease out the difference between the two?

Spare, frank, and altogether original, The Camera My Mother Gave Me challenges us to think in new ways about the centrality and power of sexuality. It is an extraordinary investigation into the role sex plays in perception and our notions of ourselves, and into what happens when the erotic impulse meets the world of medicine.

Critic Reviews:

"Thoughts on sexuality, love, trust, femininity, age, self-image, and the wisdom of the body radiate out from her pain like rays from the sun, touching her rapt, sympathetic, and often amused readers with the heat and light of her hard-won insights and candor." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Kaysen's Performance is a Delight

Would you consider the audio edition of The Camera My Mother Gave Me to be better than the print version?

Absolutely. I love when the author also narrates the audiobook because you can get a real sense for what they wanted to say.

What did you like best about this story?

This book was so much different than "Girl, Interrupted." The plot was more chronologically in order, and you get more of an idea who she is without many extra characters. This is a woman that I would love to invite over for dinner to discuss how she gets from McLean to The Camera!

What about Susanna Kaysens performance did you like?

Kaysen's performance really characterizes this book. Her matter-of-fact way of delivering detailed descriptions about a pretty intimate condition communicates her puzzled and flabbergasted discomfort.

Any additional comments?

I can't believe anyone ever told her to insert boric acid into her vagina. Insane!

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Title: War Paint

Author: Bill Goshen

Narrator: Jake Robards

Format: Abridged

Length: 1 hr and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-29-02

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Recondo-conditioned Bill Goshen was there, and now he has written the first account of these battle-hardened soldiers - hunter/killer teams of only six men, who had to survive by their wits or suffer deadly consequences. Goshen himself barely escaped with his life in a virtual suicide mission that destroyed half his team. In War Paint, he pays tribute to these fallen American heroes: men of all colors, from all walks of life; warriors bonded by triumph and tragedy, by life and death. They served proudly in Vietnam, and their stories need to be told.

Members Reviews:

War Paint.

I was on a Recon Team in Viet Nam and this is the way it was. I would recomend this book to others.

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Title: Paradise

Author: Larry McMurtry

Narrator: Philip Bosco

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 05-29-01

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

In 1999, Larry McMurtry, whose wanderlust had been previously restricted to the roads of America, set off for a trip to the paradise of Tahiti and the South Sea Islands in an old-fashioned tub of a cruise boat, at a time when his mother was slipping toward a paradise of her own. Opening up to her son in her final days, his mother makes a stunning revelation of a previous marriage and sends McMurtry on a journey of an entirely different kind.

Vividly, movingly, and with an infinite care, McMurtry paints a portrait of his parents' marriage against the harsh violent landscape of west Texas. It is their roots - laced with overtones of hard work, bitter disappointment, and the Puritan ethic - that McMurtry challenges by traveling to Tahiti, a land of lush sensuality and easy living. With fascinating detail, shrewd observations, humorous pathos, and unforgettable characters, he begins to answer some of the questions of what paradise is, whether it exists, and how different it is from life in his hometown of Archer City, Texas.

Filled with moments as strong and moving as any found in his novels, Paradise is a penetrating look at life and love from one of America's most beloved writers.

Members Reviews:

Great Travel Book

It is self-centered to Larry's life, but it is a book about travel experiences. Isn't it all like that, example Paul Therou's travels are first person. I liked it. It personalized one of my favorite authors, and exposed me to the Pacific Islands in a way I never saw before.

Love everything McMurtry has ever written - except this one.

Terribly boring, self indulgent, stretched what should have been a travel brochure about the islands into a novel. Even the author was so bored, he read everything available on the ship before writing this book!

a very classic McMurtry with a new subject line

I love mcmurtry's style of writing, and though this book departs from his western and u.s. Tomes, it is a very good read - though short.

she loved it.

This book was a gift, it was as described, she loved it.

Paradise

This was bought as a present for a friend. However, I have enjoyed all the novels I have read by McMurtry, especially Lonsome Dove. My friend did say that he liked the book and now had all the 'berrybender' series.

af