The 42nd Parallel

By: John Dos Passos

Narrated by: David Drummond

This first entry in John Dos Passos's celebrated U.S.A. trilogy paints a grand picture of the United States at the dawn of the twentieth century.

©2010 John Passos (P)2010 Tantor Media

Narrator was brilliant

So much range! Male, female, all sorts of accents. Singing and sound effects. So great!

Sublime Narration

This was an unparalleled example of bringing a classic to life through oral interpretation. The vocal variety and range of the narrator made this an exceptional audiobook.

Perfect Narrator for this book!

This book is a great American classis and an essential read. Thank you Narrator for doing an impeccable job in bringing the stories and characters to life. I am definitely moving on to 1919 and happy that David Drummond narrates that one too.

I loved the history embedded in good stories

This is my second time through so that I can now continue and finally finish the series. It’s a beautiful piece of literature.

A Diego Rivera painting in written form

Where does The 42nd Parallel rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Completely unique. The techniques utilized to fine effect by Dos Passos create a surprisingly modern and cinematic feel, especially considering these books were written 80 years ago! In particular, Dos Passos encapsulates visual and audible elements into his prose. The audible parts of the writing, especially newspaper headlines, radio messages, and popular songs, make this a wonderful choice for a book to be listened to as opposed to being read. It is a gift that narrator David Drummond rises brilliantly to the occasion (God this would be a terrifying book to consider reading - and singing - aloud). All this and the 42nd Parallel happens to be one of the most famous books of the 20th Century.... I have read of Ernest Hemingway's respect for Dos Passos. Since that was an exceedingly small camp, as Hemingway seemed to actively hate most writers, I had looked forward to listening to my first Dos Passos novel. I was not disappointed. Throughout the 42nd Parallel, I heard echos of Hemingway dialog and situations. Other writers and artists also. Joyce in particular. And painters. One might do worse than characterizing this novel as a Diego Rivera painting written in prose.