J. D. Portnoy

Flannnery O'Connor is probably the best writer the South has ever produced. In this collection she draws unforgettable characters, with her masterful use of language and an ingenious ear for dialogue. The performances are wonderful, some of the best I've heard. This is not just entertainment, although it certainly entertains, but literature. Very much worth the listen.

I don't see how anyone could not like Sonia Sotomayor's book. She comes through as a compassionate, brave, brilliant, empathic, diplomatic, and so great a role model for girls, women, and the disenfranchised of any kind. And the performance by Rita Moreno, with its lovely Spanish pronunciations, is a pleasure to hear. Buy it, give it as a gift, and be glad we've got her on the Court.

Susan Jacoby's book is intelligent, thought-provoking, and worthy of anyone's time. However, the reader, Cassandra Campbell, was the worst possible choice to narrate this text, because she is unable to pronounce many, many names, as well as ordinary words. She is a perfect parody of everything Jacoby is trying to say, albeit the irony was surely not intended. To cite just one of her many gaffes, at once point she pronounces the name "Kristol," referring to Irving Kristol, as "ChrysTAL," as in the alcoholic beverage. This very good book deserves to be recorded again by someone better educated than this reader. Listen to the book if you have a strong tolerance for the ignorant.

I had to give up on this one, even though I am a believer in evolution and neuroscience. This book was too long and too pedantic, even for me. Human nature exists and is not totally changeable. It was evolved to fit the environment of millions of years ago, and sometimes causes great problems for everyone, everywhere today. We are not blank slates , basically beautiful and good savages, or predetermined vehicles of a benevolent power. Utopian schemes don't work because they don't take certain basic human instincts into account. We are imperfect creatures. If you want mind-numbing details on these fairly self-evident facts, dear reader, go to Mr. Pinker. I've gone out to lunch.

This is a fun book for people who like to time-travel into the past, and into other kinds of lives. It's really a vacation and a wonderful escape. Heartily recommended for those with curiosity.

This book is not exactly time well spent, but it might be interesting to some in a sort of ho-hum way. There's really no surprises here, any first-year psychology student could come up with the same complaints about any disturbed parent, and I had the feeling Linda Shapiro should just get over it already!

I don't think I would listen to another book by this author, who seems to be to have a rather ordinary mind.

None of the characters are especially memorable, but there's some nostalgic interest in the descriptions of the old neighborhood, which I know well, and the old days, to which I also belong.

It was o.k. as entertainment, mild, inoffensive, but finally too predictable.

This book is one of the best nonfiction titles ever from Audible. It answers many questions I've had about why so many people seem to be sick, why health care costs have escalated beyond belief, and why so many people are frightened by their own bodies and subjected to endless psychological and physical invasions by the medical establishment..

So many memorable moments and the feeling of enlightenment was so strong I listened to the book twice, and have recommended it to everyone I know. I feel we all owe it to ourselves, friends, and family to incorporate this information into our knowledge base to better deal with our world today.

Couldn't possibly listen to it in one sitting, but it merits going back to again and again.