FEB
2016
AUDIO BOOK REVIEWS
by Jonathan Lowe
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THE
VAN CLIBURN STORY:
When a lanky, unpretentious, incredibly gifted, twenty-three-year-old
Texan took Moscow by musical storm in 1958, it launched
a sensational career that began at the age of thirteen
and was to span over four decades. At the height of
the Cold War, this friendly, open-hearted pianist enchanted
the hearts of Americans and Russians alike with playing
that was more about “personal communications than
exhibitionistic virtuosity.” Winning the Soviet-sponsored
Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition immediately
thrust Van Cliburn into political as well as artistic
pressures, attention, adulation, and scrutiny that might
have sabotaged any young artist who lacked the confidence
and conviction of Van Cliburn. After an eleven-year
retreat into privacy, the myth that surrounded the name
Van Cliburn in the 1950s and ’60s became legend
with his triumphant reentry in 1987?an event that was
to epitomize the poetic nature of Van’s entire
life. Responding to an invitation to perform for Mikhail
and Raisa Gorbachev at a state dinner, Van once again
proved that music is indeed the universal language of
understanding and is capable of uniting our diverse
cultures. Bounding off the platform after his performance
to kiss Nancy Reagan and Raisa Gorbachev, Van responded
to Raisa’s request for more music by playing the
beloved Soviet song “Moscow Nights”?the
same nostalgic song he had learned and performed during
his first incredible journey to Moscow in 1958. As millions
of Americans watched on their television screens, the
usual staid state dinner dissolved into a moving memory
of Van singing along with the Gorbachevs as the whole
room was overcome by tears. Russia and America joined
hands and hearts in this one historical moment. Narrator
Tom Taylorson is a stage actor and voice-over
teacher with a clear, resonant voice and gift for timing
and tone.
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For
something completely different head off to Lubbock,
Texas for a ZOMBIE BAKE OFF. Soccer
moms and grandmothers gather to show off their family
recipes, learn new secrets for the perfect shortcake,
and perhaps earn a chance to be on the famous cooking
show, How Would You Cook It, Then? When the bake-off
is crashed by a federation of pro wrestlers—including
American Badass, Jersey Devil Jill, Tiny Giant, the
Village Person, Jonah the Whale, the Hellbillies, and
the fan favorite Zombie—all hell is set to break
loose. Your heart beats faster as you anticipate who
will come out on top in the ultimate showdown of the
century: soccer moms or pro wrestlers. Anything can
happen. An infected batch of donuts has transformed
most of the wrestlers into mindless brain-eaters and
the doors of the convention center have been chained
shut, leaving the survivors locked inside, forced to
fend for themselves against the hungry dead. Possessing
the intensity of a shotgun to the face, Zombie Bake-Off
is a stripped-down masterpiece of blood and doughnuts
from celebrated author Stephen Graham Jones.
Stephen Graham Jones is the author of several novels
and two short story collections. He has won many awards,
and lives in Boulder, Colorado. Narrator Scott
Sowers is the perfect reader for this, with
his gruff and animated demeanor, which served him well
reading several of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear
and Loathing” titles. Recommend those too, plus
“Fear and Loathing in America,” read by
one of the most listenable and mellifluous voices in
the business, Malcolm Hillgartner.
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DARK
MONEY by Jane Mayer
traces the history of the Koch brothers in the implementation
of extreme libertarian views in both Washington and (to
a lesser extent) the general votership. Privileged members
of the inheritance meritocracy intended to become “the
ruling class” via the setup of private foundations
and the manipulation of public officials. Rather than
pay higher taxes, this scheme was turned to their advantage
in supporting those institutions which served their interests,
and promoted the philosophy of Ayn Rand and trickle-down
economics while demonizing anything sniffing of socialism
as “communism.” Oddly, some of the ultra conservative
Kochs were John Birch supporters and conspiracy theorists
dedicated to doing away with taxes of all kinds, with
only a tiny government controlled by them (and other polluters
like Mellons, Olins, and Bradleys.) They balked at paying
for parks, services or even wars, yet profited from them.
Although anti-government, the Kochs quietly supported
banking bailouts in 2008 when they saw their investments
sliding. Today they have succeeded beyond their wildest
dreams. No doubt Bernie Sanders loves this book, while
they hate him. In Mayer’s analysis, the plutocracy
controls Congress and the Pentagon behind the scenes,
and uses the media as a tool to “brandwash”
the public into compliance and acceptance. “Dark
Money” refers to the campaign cash used to bribe
officials or to fund campaigns deemed “on the same
page” with the ideals of free market capitalism
(with the tax burden borne by the now-vanishing middle
class.) Read by Kirsten Potter, this
is an epic and controversial audiobook told without hyperbole
of expression or treatment. |
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Finally,
into mystery? Ross MacDonald was (and
is) a writer's writer, and one of my favs. Paul Newman's
too. I once read a book about these books that explained
the symbolism behind his deftly original prose, which
is MORE than merely eloquent or descriptive. It is poetic
and profound. His audiobooks are narrated by one
of the best and most prolific of readers (and one I’ve
known for years), Grover Gardner, who turns them
into audio movies. Trust me, Grover could make a laundry
list sound like Shakespeare, and he defines “mellifluous.”
Download to iPhone or other device, and hear for yourself.
Ross Macdonald (1915–1983) was the pen name of Kenneth
Millar. Born near San Francisco but raised in British
Columbia, he returned to the United States as a young
man and published his first novel in 1944. For over twenty
years he lived in Santa Barbara and wrote mystery novels
about the fascinating and changing society in SoCal. He
is widely credited with elevating the detective novel
to the level of literature with his compactly written
tales of murder and despair. His works have received awards
from the Mystery Writers of America and of Great Britain,
and his book “The Moving Target”
was made into the movie "Harper"
in 1966. As was "The Drowning Pool"
(which included Joanne Woodward.) In 1982 he was awarded
the Eye Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Private
Eye Writers of America. Great reading, but even better
listening! |
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