Sound Recommendations: 8 Audiobook Reviews

I been a little busy with work this month, but I still managed to listen to 8 books since I last checked in with you. BTW: I have been reading in print & digital too--I'll get to those books next time.

Before I get to my mini reviews, I'd like to remind you that I list the books I've read on both Library Thing) and Goodreads, so if you're curious, you can always follow me there. I also post book content on Instagram.

Coming up later this week, I have a fun post involving a collaboration, and I'm planning a Weekend Cooking post as well. Hope you're all staying healthy and safe.

• The Heatwave by Kate Riordan (Grand Central; Aug. 18): This domestic thriller is set in the south of France and involves a deteriorating estate, family secrets, and a closed community. Although I didn't guess all the secrets and the atmosphere was tense, I was ultimately left with a meh feeling. I don't think everything has to be explained in detail, but some plot lines weren't fleshed out enough, and the ending was unsatisfying. The audiobook was nicely read by Miranda Raison (Hachette Audio; 8 hr, 46 min). Her accents and expressive delivery kept me invested in the story.
• The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi (Holt; Aug. 4): This mystery is set up as a book within a book. The frame involves a young book editor who is working with an author to bring his collection of short mystery stories back to print. Within the frame, we have the stories themselves, which were written (by the fictitious author) to teach lessons of a good mystery. The stories are retellings of Agatha Christie classics, so it was fun to figure out which story went with which Christie. Other than that, I wasn't all that drawn into the frame mystery: what are the editor and author hiding? Note, however, that this book has won tons of praise. As I wrote in my AudioFile magazine review, this is recommended for Agatha Christie aficionados (read by Emilia Fox; Macmillan Audio; 11 hr, 16 min).
• The Less Dead by Denise Mina (Mulholland; Aug. 18): This thriller involves a pregnant doctor (Margo) who, in the aftermath of her mother's death and a breakup with her boyfriend, decides to try to get in contact with her birth mother's family to learn more about her heritage. What she discovers is that her biological mother was murdered just days after giving up her baby. Now that Margo's met her aunt, she finds herself getting increasingly tangled up in their personal dramas as well as in the unsolved serial murder cases that include her own mother. There were definitely some scary moments and it was difficult to tease out the motives and secrets of the people Margo meets, but in the long run, the book was only okay for me. I didn't really connect or care enough. Katie Leung did a fine job with her narration (Hachette Audio; 8 hr, 4 min)--good accents, building tension, believable emotions--so the miss is totally on me.
• Death of a Liar by M. C. Beaton (Grand Central; 2015). This is the 30th in the series. I don't have more to say, except that I am still enjoying this very light, fun cozy series. Graeme Malcolm (Hachette Audio; 5 hr, 20 min) is always a pleasure to listen to.
  

• Death of a Nurse by M. C. Beaton (Grand Central; 2016): The 31st in the series. Graeme Malcolm (Hachette Audio; 5 hr, 28 min) did it again!
• 10 Things I Hate about Pinky by Sandhya Menon (Simon Pulse; July 21): This is the third book Menon has written about Indian-American California teens; the books have some overlapping characters but can all be read as stand-alones. Pinky's story is successfully based on The Taming of the Shrew (think of the movie Ten Things I Hate about You) and is generally interesting with relatable characters. Though I liked it, it was my least favorite of the three novels. Some of the story lines seemed unnecessary and others were a little drawn out; still worth the listen. Narrators Vikas Adam and Soneela Nankani (Simon & Schuster; 7 hr, 11 min) team up to read this young adult rom-com. Adam's delivery isn't as smooth as Nankani's, but I got used to it.
• Brave Enough by Jessie Diggins and Todd Smith (U of Minnesota Press; March 10): In this memoir, cross-country ski champion Diggins talks about her journey from her childhood in rural Minnesota to standing on the Olympic podium to accept a gold medal. She speaks frankly about her eating disorder and the less glamorous aspects of being an elite athlete along with the wonderful opportunities, friendships, and rewards of training with a team. Maybe not the best-written memoir of all time, but I liked getting to know Diggins. More on the audiobook read by Allyson Ryan (Tantor; 10 hr, 532 min) in AudioFile magazine.
• Death of a Ghost by M. C. Beaton (Grand Central; 2017). This is the penultimate book in the series. Sadly it wasn't my favorite of the bunch, but I still liked spending time with copper Hamish Macbeth. Only one more book to go! As always, Graeme Malcolm (Hachette Audio; 5 hr, 37 min) put in an terrific performance.

Thanks to the publishers (audiobook & print) for the review copies. And thanks to Libro.fm.

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Weekend Cooking: 9 Books for Food & Drink Lovers

Hello friends! It’s been a hot minute since I connected with my very favorite blogging group—all of you at Weekend Cooking. Part my absence was just needing a break and part is my lack of desire to learn the new Blogger interface. (And at this point I’m not really interested in paying someone to move everything over to WordPress.)

I’ll get the hang of it and all will be fine again.

Today’s post is a round-up of 9 food and cooking books I’ve been exploring since the beginning of the summer. Hope you find something you like here. All these books should be available at your local independent bookstore or library; note that publishing dates are from Edelweiss+ and may not be accurate.

• Modern Cast Iron by Ashley L. Jones (Red Lighting Books; Aug. 18): This book lives up to its subtitle; it is indeed a “complete guide” to cast iron and includes good information on how to buy pans, season and clean them, and even how to turn that crusty flea market find into something you’ll be happy to use. Jones includes a handful of recipes that will take you from breakfast through to dinner (we made the chocolate chip cookie skillet cake--see my Instagram for a photo). The recipes are easy and doable, but the worth of this book is in the excellent advice for incorporating cast iron into your modern kitchen.
• Dirt by Bill Buford (Knopf; May 5): I’ve been a fan of Buford’s since I first listened to his book Heat in 2006. In his newest cooking memoir he shares his journey to learn all there is to know about French cooking; never mind that he didn't really speak the language. His self-directed humor and conversational tone mixed with a natural talent for storytelling, makes Dirt a don’t-miss read. A six-month stay in Lyon, with his wife and toddler twin boys, turned into a years-long learning opportunity. You’ll be craving all things wonderful on your plate, even as you discover the strict rules and techniques that are de rigueur for French chefs.
• The Truth about Baked Beans by Meg Muckenhoupt (NYU Press, Aug. 25): This well-researched look into the culinary world of New England dissects the myths and reveals the truths of the region’s signature dishes. From Native Americans to the Pilgrims and through every wave of immigrants thereafter, every group has made its mark on household New England cooking, and—spoiler alert—most of those dishes are different from those that have gained legendary status. Firsthand accounts reveal the cultural biases, fear of the unfamiliar, and more that shaped the region’s culinary reputation. Well worth your time.

• Beautiful Booze by Natalie Migliarini and James Stevenson (Countryman Press; Aug. 25): I’m usually a wine (and sometimes beer) kind of woman, but other times I’m all about the cocktail. In these days of self-isolation, there’s something fun about coming up with the perfect afternoon, evening, or weekend drink to brighten your day and make you dream about a future when you can invite your friends and family into your house again. The “beautiful” part of the title of this cocktail recipe book isn’t a lie: the photos and the drinks themselves are simply gorgeous. I’m not kidding. The book includes all the expected information about stocking your bar, picking glassware, learning mixing techniques, and making homemade syrups. The drinks look heavenly.
• Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg (Artisan; May 2): This wonderful vegetable-forward cookbook is just what you want to guide you through your year of veggies. I can’t wait until I can go to the farmer’s market again and explore all the freshest produce of the season; when that day happens, this is the cookbook I want by my side. In the meantime, I can use the recipes to make the most of grocery store curbside pickup. Although the recipes are centered on seasonal vegetables, this is not a fully vegetarian cookbook, so if you don’t eat meat, you’ll want to look through this before you buy it. Wondering about the six seasons? Summer is divided up into early, mid, and late harvests.
• The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook by Lucy Vaserfirer (Harvard Common Press; Aug 4): I’m inspired by this down-to-earth, easy-to-follow guide to making homemade noodles. The techniques sections cover all kinds of pasta makers, from sheeters to cutters to extruders, including stand-alone electric machines, hand-cranked machines, and attachments to a mixer. The recipes look easy and fun, and Vaserfirer provides directions for gluten-free pasta too. I’m waiting for cooler weather to give these recipes a try, although now that I think about it, quarantine is the perfect time to perfect your pasta-making skills. Great photos and clear directions throughout.

• Unvarnished by Eric Alperin and Deborah Stoll (Harper Wave; June 23): This memoir has been billed as the Kitchen Confidential of the bartending world. That alone would get me to read this, but the book has also won tons of praise for its candid perspective of life on the other side of the bar. Alperin extolls the professional side of his chosen career, dispelling the notion that a good mixologist is somehow in limbo waiting for his or her "real" job opportunities to appear. I haven’t read this yet, but it’s currently at the top of my fall reading stack.
• Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table by Carole Bumpus (She Writes Press; Aug. 18): In this second travelogue, food adventure, memoir mashup, Bumpus takes us to Normandy, Brittany, Loire, and Auvergne, where she met local families, learning about their foods, recipes, and traditions while cooking and talking at the kitchen table. If you’re interested in authentic French foods and wines, have a love of travel, and understand the importance of family, you’ll love Bumpus’s books. I’m reading this slowly, savoring every (tasty) word.
• Women in the Kitchen by Anne Willan (Scribner; Aug. 11): Willan’s books have a permanent place in my personal cookbook collection. Her latest is a look at a dozen women who lived and cooked at some point during the last 300 years and who (as the subtitle suggests) had a major influence on the way we eat and cook. I just received my review copy of this book (as in yesterday!), and I can’t wait to dive in. The book consists of short biographies and then a sampling of each woman’s recipes. I might not make Hannah Woolley’s seventeenth-century recipes, but I’ve already cooked from books written by Edna Lewis, Irma Rombauer, and many of the others. I’m looking forward to learning more!

Thanks to the publishers for providing review copies of these titles. Fuller reviews will be available on Goodreads or Instagram sometime during the following weeks.

Shared with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker)

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12 Audiobooks: What I've Listened to This Summer

Here's what I've read since my last check-in. All books were received for review or for a freelance assignment unless otherwise indicated. Where you see "AFM," please check out my full audiobook review on the AudioFile Magazine website. Also note that I've given fuller treatment to some of these titles over on Goodreads. Also note that I listened to all of these titles. I miss print/digital reading, but audios are what works for now.

Before I get into my brief thoughts on the dozen books I listened to since my last post, I want to mention one that I didn't finish. While I really liked the first book in the Aurora Cycle series, I ultimately turned off Aurora Burning. It may be my mood, it may be a case of sophomore slump for the authors, but I just didn't care enough to find out what happens to the characters. Note that I normally love Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, so blame the DNF on me. The narrators were Kim Mai Guest, Johnathan McClain, Lincoln Hoppe, Donnabella Mortel, Jonathan Todd Ross, Erin Spencer, and Steve West, and they all did a fine job. The performances were not the issue. (Listening Library; 15 hr, 16 min).

• Wandering Strange Lands by Morgan Jerkins (author read; HarperAudio; 8 hr, 3 min): In this memoir, the author sets out to search for her roots and along the way discusses the Great Black Migration north, myths and traditions, food and customs, and more that connect and disconnect Black Americans from each other and their ancestors. Adequately read by the author.
• The Golden Cage by Camilla Lackberg (read by Ann Richardson; Random House Audio; 11 hr, 2 min): This is a standalone thriller that focuses on a woman who is out to seek revenge on her husband who has done her wrong. A few good twists. I like Lackberg's main series better, but this is a good listen. Richardson does well with the accents and builds the tension.
• Death of Yesterday by M.C. Beaton (read by Graeme Malcolm; Grand Central; 5 hr, 36 min): The 28th installment in the Hamish Macbeth series still doesn't disappoint. I was, however, unhappy that I downloaded a "Booktrack" version of the audiobook. Malcolm's delivery was fine, but the so-called enhancements (music, sound effects) were too distracting for me. Your mileage may vary, but I'm not a fan of Booktrack.
  

• The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (read by Gary Furlong, Elle Newlands, Morag Sims, Imogen Church, and Moira Quirk; HarperAudio; 10 hr, 8 min): What a super closed-door mystery with a ton of red herrings and an exquisite slow burn. You don't even know who the victim is until pretty far along. Loved this. The full cast was terrific; highly recommended. (personal collection)
  
• Summer Longing by Jamie Brenner (read by Molly Parker Myers; Hachette Audio; 11 hr; 36 min): It's not summer without a Brenner book. Her beach reads always have some depth to them and focus a lot on mothers and daughters and family. Perfect for these hot August days. Myers's performance was engaging.
• Northernmost by Peter Geye (read by Edoardo Ballerini and Lisa Flanagan; Random House; 11 hr, 34 min): Just a quick note here to say that this is probably my top read of the year. I'm pretty much in awe of Geye's talents and love the generations of characters he has created. I write more about this book on GoodReads. Ballerini and Flanagan were amazing. Listen to this one!

• Death of a Policeman by M.C. Beaton (read by Graeme Malcolm; Hachette Audio; 5 hr, 20 min): I'm almost done with the series and will likely finish up by the time I post reviews again. Still fun and Malcolm is still good.
• The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (read by Deepti Gupta and Zehra Jane Naqvi; HarperAudio; 3 hr, 15 min): I'm not sure I understood this Bengali audiobook in translation. It's the story of a poor woman who marries into a rich family and also the story of her daughter. The magical realism and the cultural references I didn't really get made this only meh for me. On the other hand, Gupta and Naqvi's performances were fine. AFM.
• His & Hers by Alice Feeney (read by Richard Armitage and Stephanie Racine; Macmillan Audio; 10 hr, 39 min): A twisty thriller set in England. Every time I thought I had figured it all out, I was wrong! Well done and worth your time. Armitage and Racine kept my interest and didn't give the story away.

• Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (read by Moira Quirk; Recorded Books; 16 hr, 50 min): This is the first in the Locked Tomb trilogy and because the second book was (or will be?) released this summer, I thought it was time to get on board. It's a unique fantasy and science fiction mashup with good characters, okay world building, and some mysteries. I'm interested enough to listen to the second book. Quirk was good; I have no complaints.
• The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenberg (read by Erin Mallon; Dreamscape; 6 hr 21 min): I wrote more about this on GoodReads. I like Wizenberg's earlier memoirs so I knew I would like this one too, though the subject matter is not food related. Instead Wizenberg writes about her growing self-awareness in terms of her sexuality and discusses gender in broader terms. Mallon was excellent.
• Becoming Eve by Abby Chava Stein (author read; Seal; 7 hr, 53 min): Go see my thoughts on GoodReads for more. Fascinating look into both contemporary Hasidic life and the journey of a transgender member of the community. Stein writes with openness and feeling and seems like a natural behind the mic. One of my favorites of the year.
  

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Weekend Cooking: Random Thoughts

Happy Saturday! Hope you're all staying healthy and safe. Today's Weekend Cooking post is an eclectic mix of kitchen-y things that have come to my attention in the last couple of weeks. If look closely, you'll see that each one kind of flows into the next. Maybe something here will grab your attention too.

Abrams Dinner Party: The wonderful people at Abrams Books are continuing their cookbook review partnership with social media foodies. I encourage all of you to consider filling out an application form at the Dinner Party website. There you'll find all the pertinent information and a few testimonials (including one from me). Abrams makes it very easy to meet the terms of your contract with them, even for cookbooks that don't fit your personal style or dietary requirements.

Don't be shy. You have nothing to lose by filling out the application and you just might gain a seat at the dinner party. Don't think about it too long, though, you have only until August 10 to apply.

ckbk.com: My friend Karen (a fellow copyeditor and cook who sometimes links up with Weekend Cooking) drew my attention to the website ckbk, which calls themselves "the ultimate digital subscription service for cooks." I decided to look a little closer because I really liked the publishers the site works with, including Abrams (see cookbook at the right) and Workman, two of my favorite cookbook publishers. The free membership gives you access to three recipes a month from a list of almost 400 cookbooks. I signed up.

Here is my experience. I had a large box of blueberries in my refrigerator last Saturday and was in the mood to make a snack cake, so I thought I could use one of my free recipes of the month on a new cake recipe. I searched for blueberries and found two possibilities, which I saved by clicking "open in new tab." When I went to read the recipes I discovered that each click uses up one of the month's free recipes. Grrr. Only one of the recipes looked close to what I wanted. It came from one of those organization-type cookbooks and was submitted by someone who said it was a family favorite. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I printed out the recipe anyway.

Meanwhile, I decided to check out the premium (read: paid) membership. It costs $5 a month for unlimited access to all the cookbooks. I didn't think I needed to spend $60 a year. Before I clicked off the sign-up page I noticed a faint, grayed-out tab that said "annual." If you pay by the year, it's only $40. In the long run, though, I opted not to join or even to give their 14-day free trial a whirl.

King Arthur Flour: If you subscribe to KAF's free newsletters (and you should), you'll have noticed that the company recently redesigned their logo and adopted a new name: King Arthur Baking Company. I like the new look and name and the story behind them. Anyway, on Sunday I still hadn't baked my cake, but in a stroke of good luck, I found a new KABC newsletter in my mailbox and it was all about baking with blueberries!

I picked the Blueberry Buckle Coffeecake and I'm sooooo happy I did. It was exactly what I was looking for: not too sweet, tons of berries, easy and quick to mix, and perfect for anytime (from breakfast to late-night treat). The photo is from the KABC website, and if you click through the link, you'll find the recipe I used as well as a gluten-free version.

Butcherbox: Okay the flow from KABC to Butcherbox is a bit of a stretch, but I'm going with this link: small company, headquartered in New England with a reputation for excellency and great customer service. Butcherbox is a meat subscription service that delivers only grass-fed, hormone-free, humanely raised beef, pork, and chicken. They sell seafood too. They offer several different boxes and you can customize your delivery schedule.

I get the small Customized Box, which comes to $150 and provides us around twenty-five meals (figuring, for example, a meat-based chili made with 1 pound of beef will last us two dinners, or four meals). As many of you know, we alternate dinners between vegetarian and meat, so one box provides enough meat for two months. You can get different sizes and types of boxes for different prices and you can add on extras.

In this COVID world in which we have chosen not to go to the farmer's market and try to limit our trips to any store, Butcherbox offers a safe and economical alternative to our usual locally produced meats. I know $150 sounds like a lot, but the price per pound is only very slightly more than our local producers, shipping is "free" (that is, it is included in the price), and we get enough meat for two months. Note too that the cost is lower than organic meats from the supermarket.

Shared with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker)

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12 True Stories to Read This Month

Although I seem to be lost in a sea of speculative fiction and mysteries/thrillers during these trying times, I haven’t forgotten that I normally love nonfiction. In fact, I’ve already finished one of the books on this list and have another one in my queue.

If you can’t quite face true stories right now, jot down the titles that call to you and save them for brighter days.

Most of the following books are coming out this month, but please double-check because publishing dates are unreliable this year. Summaries are cobbled from the publishers; audiobook information is included.

Life Stories

• Olive the Lionheart by Brad Ricca (St. Martin’s Press): In 1910, Olive MacLeod, a thirty-year-old, redheaded Scottish aristocrat, received word that her fiancée, the famous naturalist Boyd Alexander, was missing in Africa. So she went to find him. This is the thrilling true story of her astonishing journey. Based on firsthand sources (letters and diaries). Audiobook: Read by Billie Fulford-Brown; 11 hr 31 min; Macmillan Audio
• Being Lolita by Alisson Wood (Flatiron): The true story of how the author came under the thrall of her high school English teacher, and it all began when Mr. North gave Allison a copy of Lolita. This is a stunning coming-of-age memoir that shines a bright light on our shifting perceptions of consent, vulnerability, and power. Audiobook: Read by Alisson Wood; 6 hr, 46 min; Macmillan Audio.
• The Book of Atlantis Black by Betsy Bonner (Tin House): A young woman is found dead on the floor of a Tijuana hotel room. An ID in a nearby purse reads “Atlantis Black.” The police report states that the body does not seem to match the identification, yet the body is quickly cremated and the case is considered closed. So begins Betsy Bonner’s search for her sister, Atlantis, and the unraveling of the mysterious final months before Atlantis’s disappearance, alleged overdose, and death. Using her sister’s online history, the author sets out to find out what happened. This is a haunting memoir and piercing true crime account. Audiobook: Read by Laura Jennings; 5 hr, 15 min; Blackstone.
• The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenberg (Abrams): This is the story of how a straight wife and mother discovered that her self-identified sexuality and images of family changed irrevocably after a chance meeting with a woman lawyer. This memoir explores timely and timeless questions about desire, identity, and the limits and possibilities of family. It’s a frank and moving story about letting go of rigid definitions and ideals that no longer fit and of learning instead who we really are. Audiobook: Read by Erin Mallon; 6 hr, 21 min; Dreamscape.

Science and Nature

• The End of Everything by Katie Mack (Scribner): An accessible and eye-opening look at five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology. Told with lively wit and humor, this is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know. Audiobook: Read by Gabra Zackman; 6 hr, 21 min; Simon & Schuster Audio.
• Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (Grove): A transcendent collection of essays about the human relationship to the natural world “Animals don’t exist in order to teach us things, but that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know about ourselves.” This is a captivating and foundational book about observation, fascination, time, memory, love and loss and how we make sense of the world around us. Audiobook: Read by Helen Macdonald; 10 hr, 22 min; Recorded Books.
• Gods of the Upper Air by Charles King (Doubleday): A dazzling history of the birth of cultural anthropology and the adventurous scientists who pioneered it—a sweeping chronicle of discovery and the fascinating origin story of our multicultural world. A century ago, everyone knew that people were fated by their race, sex, and nationality to be more or less intelligent, nurturing, or warlike. But Columbia University professor Franz Boas looked at the data and decided everyone was wrong. Racial categories, he insisted, were biological fictions. His students were some of the century’s most colorful figures and unsung visionaries whose revolutionary findings would go on to inspire the fluid conceptions of identity we know today. Audiobook: Read by January LaVoy; 13 hr, 32 min; Random House Audio.
• Leave It as It Is by David Gessner (Simon & Schuster): From Theodore Roosevelt’s rallying cry of “Leave it as it is” (referring to the Grand Canyon) to today’s continued environmental fight to save our wild areas, conservation has never gone out of style. This is an account of a nature writer’s retracing of Roosevelt’s steps through the grandeur of our public lands, telling the story of the president’s life as a pioneering conservationist and offering an arresting history, a powerful call to arms, and a profound meditation on our environmental future. Audiobook: Read by Fred Sanders; 12 hr, 24 min; Simon & Schuster Audio.

History

• Berlin 1936 by Oliver Hilmes (Other Press; paperback): A lively account of the 1936 Olympics told through the voices and stories of those who witnessed it, from an award-winning historian and biographer. The book takes the reader through the sixteen days of the Olympiad, from the activities in the stadium to the lives of ordinary Berliners, offering a last glimpse of Germany’s vibrant and diverse life, before the Nazis tried to destroy it. Audiobook: no information
• The Craft: John Dickie (Hachette): The history of the Freemasons and how it influenced history, society, and government around the globe. Yet the Masons were as feared as they were influential. This is an enthralling exploration of a the world's most famous and misunderstood secret brotherhood, a movement that not only helped forge modern society but has substantial contemporary influence, with around six million members across the world. Audiobook: Read by Simon Slater; 16 hr, 35 min; Hachette Audio.
• Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price (Basic Books): Written by an archaeologist, this is billed as the definite history of the Vikings told on their own terms: their politics, their cosmology and religion, their material world. Known today for a stereotype of maritime violence, the Vikings exported new ideas, technologies, beliefs, and practices to the lands they discovered and the peoples they encountered and, in the process, were themselves changed. Audiobook: Read by Samuel Roukin; 17 hr, 25 min; Recorded Books.
• Iron Empires by Michael Hiltzik (HMH): After the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, America’s railways soon exploded into a titanic industry helmed by a pageant of speculators, crooks, and visionaries. This is an account of the vicious competition between empire builders and how the iconic figures of the Gilded Age, the robber barons, drove the country into the twentieth century—and almost sent it off the rails. Audiobook: Narrator and publisher not yet available; 15 hr, 57 min

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