Senex

I won't go into detail about the content of the book itself -- other reviewers have covered that adequately -- but I'll address the reader.

I generally stick to non-fiction audiobooks because I almost always dislike the way a single reader will deliver a work of fiction. Most non-fiction audiobooks I find enjoyable, or at least listenable. This one is only mediocre; my least favorite of the thirty or so non-fiction books I have heard.

Dylan Baker reads in a sing-song voice that makes the conversations and commentary of those interviewed sound like a kids' book. Everything sounds a little silly. Harsh critiques are inappropriately softened, and painful memories are presented matter-of-factly. The value a human reader can bring to any printed book seems to be lost here, particularly when Baker is reading direct quotes.

Other reviewers noted that Baker's reading was sub-par. I listened to the sample offered by Audible, so I could decide for myself. What I didn't realize is that the sample is from the introduction -- by the author, not the reader. Really, Audible? No one noticed that the sample captured the less than one percent of the book not read by Dylan Baker?

Don't be fooled by the sample. Isaacson does a decent job. He would have been a better choice to read the audiobook.