• A Well-Read Woman

  • The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport
  • By: Kate Stewart
  • Narrated by: Christa Lewis
  • Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (37 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
A Well-Read Woman  By  cover art

A Well-Read Woman

By: Kate Stewart
Narrated by: Christa Lewis
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.99

Buy for $24.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The inspiring true story of an indomitable librarian’s journey from Nazi Germany to Seattle to Vietnam - all for the love of books.

Growing up under Fascist censorship in Nazi Germany, Ruth Rappaport absorbed a forbidden community of ideas in banned books. After fleeing her home in Leipzig at fifteen and losing both parents to the Holocaust, Ruth drifted between vocations, relationships, and countries, searching for belonging and purpose. When she found her calling in librarianship, Ruth became not only a witness to history but an agent for change as well.

Culled from decades of diaries, letters, and photographs, this epic true story reveals a driven woman who survived persecution, political unrest, and personal trauma through a love of books. It traces her activism from the Zionist movement to the Red Scare to bibliotherapy in Vietnam and finally to the Library of Congress, where Ruth made an indelible mark and found a home. Connecting it all, one constant thread: Ruth’s passion for the printed word, and the haven it provides - a haven that, as this singularly compelling biography proves, Ruth would spend her life making accessible to others. This wasn’t just a career for Ruth Rappaport. It was her purpose.

©2019 by Kathryn Stewart. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Stewart is frank about Rappaport’s prickly personality…Those details, coupled with more admirable qualities like curiosity and drive, serve to make her an entertaining presence. A lively, chatty exploration of a life that veered in many intriguing directions.” --Kirkus Reviews

What listeners say about A Well-Read Woman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing story, incredible life

Loved the independent and adventurous spirit, no BS attitude, and unbelievable history of Ruth Rappaport. I wish the author had kept to Ruth's story instead of adding her own political opinion at the end. Otherwise, a good book about an extraordinary woman.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful