CAR TALK SCIENCE: MIT WANTS ITS DIPLOMAS BACK by Tom Magliozzi and Ray Magliozzi

 

Published in 2016 by HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books.
Hosted by Tom and Ray Magliozzi
Duration: 1 hour, 1 minute.
Unabridged

For years a staple on the weekend schedule of every NPR station was "Car Talk", a call-in show featuring brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi. These guys were experts in practical car maintenance and repair, they could talk all day long and they clearly enjoyed each other's company. The show was entertaining and informative. The last new show was broadcast in 2012.

Neither of these brothers was a professional mechanic, but they operated a "bring your own parts and fix it yourself" car shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts and picked up a thing or two along the way. They also both have degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), also located in Cambridge. 

They used to receive calls that covered all sorts of car-related topics. Most were straight up car questions, but some were different. In this case, these are more science-related. Some are kind of duds, like the rather long conversation about Boy Scout pinewood derby cars. I did enjoy the conversation about creating an aerodynamic spoiler for mattresses being hauled on top of cars. For me the best conversation was a debate about whether it is better to take the shorter route over a big hill in the family car to go visit a nearby relative or if it is better to take a longer route around the hill and stay on flat land.

This was a so-so collection since I can only remember two segments that I liked. The rest were just so-so or best left in the studio archives.

I rate this collection 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here:

CAR TALK SCIENCE: MIT WANTS ITS DIPLOMAS BACK by Tom Magliozzi and Ray Magliozzi.

DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT of the RANIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE (audiobook) by Max Brooks

 

Published in 2020 by Random House Audio.
Read by multiple readers (see text of review).
Duration: 9 hours, 50 minutes.
Unabridged.

The premise for the novel Devolution is that a leader in the tech industry has built a completely new type of housing development in rural Washington state.  They are designed to use as little energy as possible, recycle the human waste and run on solar panels. The community is small and isolated - just a few homes in order to lessen the overall environmental impact.

If you are old enough to remember the Mt. St. Helen eruption in 1980, in this novel, the same thing happens to Mt. Ranier. This is a complete possibility in real life and it is generally believed that the consequences would be much, much worse with Mt. Ranier.

When Ranier erupts, this community is completely isolated by the chaos that follows. The government is doing the best it can, but this is a full-blown crisis and a few missing people in the woods (even if they are rich and connected) can't compare to the floods, bridge failures, landslides, thousands of other missing people and the thousands and thousands of refugees that have fled the area. 

This little community is on its own.

When a cougar enters their neighborhood and tries to hunt a child, they know that the animals' patterns have also been disrupted and top-level predators are desperate.

Too bad for these people that there is something that is bigger and tougher than cougars that is also hunting them...

This audiobook starts out very slowly. I almost gave up on it at the 90 minute mark. But, I gave it a few minutes more and suddenly I was looking for chances to keep listening. 

Like Max Brooks' best-known book, World War Z, the book is not told as a traditional story. The book pretends to be a detailed investigation of what happened to this little community and its residents. 

Primarily, the book is told from the point of view of a young married woman who comes out to this remote little housing development with her husband to sort out her life a bit. She keeps a very detailed journal on the advice of her therapist and the "author" of the book pulls from that journal. They are living in her big brother's house - business had pulled him away from moving into he new development when it opened and he thought she could use this time away from the big city. 

It contains a lot of interviews with different people who were attached to the community in one way or another. Each is voiced by a different actor, including Nathan Fillion, Kate Mulgrew, Mira Furlan and Judy Greer. If you didn't notice, Max Brooks has found actors from the sci-fi TV shows Firefly, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Lost,the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the re-boot franchise of Planet of the Apes. I doubt it was intentional that so many of these voice actors were from iconic science fiction franchises, but still...nicely done. 

Two segments were "interviews" with two of the characters that were supposedly broadcast on NPR. The great thing is that they were actually conducted by NPR personality Kai Ryssdal and Terry Gross and they were so realistic that I thought my download was messed up and I ended up with an NPR podcast stuck in the middle of it. 

Mira Furlon's voice was a welcome surprise since she passed away just 6 months ago. She probably only had 10 minutes of audio, but she voiced my favorite character in a profound moment that hit me double hard when it was delivered with her voice.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5 - the very slow start hurts the overall score. But, still a very good audiobook. It can be found on Amazon.com here: DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT of the RANIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE (audiobook) by Max Brooks.

NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: LOVE STORIES by NPR

Published in 2014 by HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Multicast performance
Duration: 2 hours, 5 minutes

The idea behind NPR's "Driveway Moments" series is that each of these stories is so good that if you were listening to them when they were originally broadcast on NPR you would stay in the car to hear the end of the story rather than turn off the car and head on in to the house.

That is a pretty high standard, when you think about it. The good news is that many of these stories are that good. I enjoyed the story of the couple that fell in love while eyeing one another on a commuter flight and a conversation with author John Green about reactions to his book The Fault in Our Stars. My favorite may have been the story in which a divorced couple fell back in love after the husband became ill with Alzheimer's. He had literally forgotten the woman who came to visit him and re-discovered what he liked about her.

But, there were some real clunkers in the collection as well. One grew so tedious that I skipped the track. Another was the reverse of a love story - it was full of bitter double entendre comments from divorced parents to their children. It seemed very out of place.

On balance, it's a good collection and well worth the time of the listener.

I rate this collection 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR Driveway Moments: Love Stories.

NPR AMERICAN CHRONICLES: THE CIVIL WAR (audiobook) by NPR

Published in 2011 by HighBridge Audio
Multicast performance
Duration: 2 hours, 59 minutes

NPR has searched through its archives and found 29 stories that make for a very interesting listen if you are a student of the Civil War.

There are interviews with historians, including James McPherson and Shelby Foote and authors like Tony Horwitz, Jay Winik and E.L. Doctorow. Sam Waterston reads the Gettysburg Address (so good!) and Hal Holbrook talks about a project of his about the impact of the Civil War on Iowa.

There are also interviews with regular people, like the African American family that comes to see the original Emancipation Proclamation and turns it into a profound and moving educational event.

None of it is very deep, but all of it is deeply interesting. This is a must-listen for all amateur historians of the Civil War.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found here: NPR American Chronicles: The Civil War.

NPR LAUGHTER THERAPY: A COMEDY COLLECTION for the CHRONICALLY SERIOUS (audiobook) by NPR

Published in 2013 by HighBridge
Multicast performance
Duration: 2 hours, 19 minutes

As NPR readily acknowledges in the description of this collection, they are hardly known for their humor. NPR tends to run a bit stuffy but, from time to time, they do some funny stuff. Or, to be more accurate, NPR is at its funniest when they interview some funny people and let them be themselves.

This is hardly a CD full of comedy routines. In fact, there are a few tracks that are re-plays of a series of April Fools Day fake news bits that NPR has run over the years and they are mostly cute at best and definitely go on for way too long.

On the other hand, the interviews with Drew Carey, Paula Poundstone, Fred Willard with Martin Mull, Eugene Levy and Mel Brooks are simply great. The interviews with Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers are a cut above. Very good stuff from two ground-breaking comic masters.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found here: NPR Laughter Therapy.

NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS for DADS (audiobook) by NPR

Published in 2012 by HighBridge Audio
Multicast Performance
Duration: 1 hour, 38 minutes.

Billed as "Radio Stories that Won't Let You Go", the premise of this audio series is that each of these stories is so compelling that when they were broadcast over the radio you would have waited in your car in the driveway to hear the end of the story rather than going on in to your house.

There are 21 tracks in this collection and, as in all collections, they are of varying quality. Some seem to have been included only because they fit the theme but not because they are particularly riveting. However, most are really good and a couple are very touching. The story of the dad and son who go with the Boy Scouts precisely because the dad has no real outdoor skills was quite funny. 

The "Driveway Moments" series is pretty strong and this is a solid entry. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR Driveway Moments for Dads.

THE BEST of WAIT WAIT...DON´T TELL ME! (audiobook) by NPR

Published by HighBridge Company/NPR in 2008.
Multiple Performers
Duration: 2 hours, 11 minutes.

If you are familiar with the NPR radio show Wait Wait...Don´t Tell Me then you know what this collection is all about. Clever people playing silly games with news stories. This collection comes from 2006-2008 so the news is a little old. But, then again, you don´t listen to this show for the news - you listen to it for the funny takes on the news by the guests and the panel.

Guests include Michael Moore (note: I am not a big fan of Michael Moore but he was very funny), Ted Koppel, Drew Carey and NBA star Chris Paul. Besides the guests, there is just a lot of silly news and even better commentary on it.

Regular panelist Paula Poundstone was hilarious as was P.J. O´Rourke, Roy Blount Jr, Mo Rocca and Tom Bodett.

If you love this radio show, this is a must-listen.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Best of Wait Wait...Don´t Tell Me.

CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION: THE WORST of NPR: MOE MOSKOWITZ and the PUNSTERS PERFORM the FUNNIEST SONGS and NONSENSE that NPR HAS to OFFER (audiobook) by Moe Moskowitz and the Punsters

Originally published by Phoenix Books in April of 2001
Re-published in 2016
Multicast performance
Duration: 1 hour, 6 minutes

Moe Moskowitz used to be a semi-regular feature on NPR in the morning. He is a character created by author and high school English teacher Robert Kaplow.

NPR is not known for its humor. In fact, I listened to one of their compilation CDs that was supposed to be funny and found it to be even less funny than the normal types of stories that NPR covers during a normal morning. Great news stories but, aside from the weekend stuff, they're not particularly funny.

Robert Kaplow. Photo by Lynn Lauber

Moe Moskowitz must have been like the proverbial bull in the China shop when his bits were played. He is quick, clever and non-stop. His attention ranges all over the place. He sings, he pitches new product ideas, he pitches new story ideas, he parodies everything from Alvin and the Chipmunks to Cokie Roberts. 

The collection is sort of a recounting the amazing career of Moskowitz. The style is very much in the style of Spike Jones and the City Slickers, a group that was pretty much the Weird Al Yankovic of the 1940s and 1950s.

Was it funny? For NPR this is a knee-slapper. I found it to be amusing with just a couple of truly funny moments. I listened, enjoyed it well enough but I have no plans to go back and listen again. Lots of parody songs, lots of clever lines but nothing that really nailed it for me.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5.

This collection can be found on Amazon.com here: Cancel My Subscription: The Worst of NPR.

NPR ROAD TRIPS: NATIONAL PARK ADVENTURES: STORIES THAT TAKE YOU AWAY (audiobook)

Published in 2012 by HighBridge
Multicast performance
Duration: 1 hour, 7 minutes

NPR has searched its archives for stories about America's National Park System for this enjoyable collection. These stories don't just tell us about the park but tell us an interesting story in the park.

The stories vary from the humorous (the story about the smallest National Park - Thaddeus Kosciuszco National Memorial in Philadelphia which consists of a single room and covers .02 acre to honor this figure from the Revolutionary War) to the wondrous (Death Valley in full bloom after a once-in-a-lifetime rainstorm). The listener learns about the small city of employees that run Grand Canyon National Park, spooky tales of love at White Sands, an effort to preserve the music of New Orleans and a park employee who charts and maps the roadkill that he finds as he goes about his work. 

The audio quality is, of course, excellent since these stories were originally produced for broadcast on NPR. Besides that, this is an interesting collection - the stories are not repetitive, they alternate in mood and length and come together to make an excellent listening experience.

I rate this collection 5 stars out of 5.

This CD can be purchased on Amazon here: NPR Road Trips: National Park Adventures: Stories That Take You Away . . .

CAR TALK CLASSICS: NO FACTORY RECALLS. SO FAR. by NPR

Published by HighBridge in April of 2015.

Multicast Performance.
Duration: Approximately 3.5 hours

After 35 years on the air, there are no more Car Talk episodes being made.Tom has passed on and Ray Magliozzi is retired. But, they still are broadcast on NPR stations across the country. NPR is also going back and searching for great episodes to sell. This is a four episode collection that probably dates from the late 1990s, based on the cars that they were discussing. 

In these episodes Tom and Ray weigh in on the following:

-The lady in Alaska whose truck only goes up hills in reverse (and how she ended up in Alaska in the first place).

-The woman whose husband bought a car to rebuild and restore that only worked in reverse.

-The woman who had 33 different cars in the last 15 years.

-The astronaut who called from the space shuttle and knew Tom and Ray when he used to go to their shop back when he was in college.

-The freshman student who was suffering from intense philosophical malaise. Features Tom and Ray's discussion on adulthood and the meaning of life in the real world.

-The dog that rode on the roof of the cab of its owner's truck as she crossed the country.

-Goats and cars.

If you like the radio show, you will love this collection. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Car Talk Classics: No Factory Recalls. So Far.

I rate this collection 4 stars out of 5.

NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: MORE about ANIMALS: RADIO STORIES that WON'T LET YOU GO

Published in 2015 by HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books.
Multicast performance
Duration: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Unabridged

In a lot of ways the first story in this 30 story collection typifies the entire collection. It is called "Grizzly Encounters" and is an almost 6 minute long recounting of three different encounters with Grizzly Bears. We were on a long family trip and you could almost sense the family settling in for what was sure to be an interesting story. But, after we had listened to each of them sort of peter out to a "that's it?" moment I stopped the CD and asked if I was the only one that was disappointed in that story. Everyone, even the nine year old, thought the story was a disappointment.

So, on to the next story - a story about bats in a mine that I remember most for telling me this was the sound of the bats that they had been hunting (and me thinking that this would sound great in the awesome speakers of the rental SUV) only to have it last for about 5 seconds. 0 for 2 so far.

The next four stories were better, the best being a story about tool-using animals, although the story of dolphins recognizing the calls of other dolphins that they hadn't seen for years was certainly heart-warming.

The rest of the collection is mostly like that. A lot of ho-hum stories with the theme of animals with the occasional good story. The story of a Florida sea turtle who was accidentally carried across the Atlantic by a ship was cute and ended well but hardly memorable. A song written for Lonesome George, a last-of-his-kind tortoise was cute at first but I was so glad when it ended.

Really, we got an F?

I have listened to at least seven of the audiobooks in this series and they all suffer from the up-and-down quality but these just seemed to be almost universally so-so. Perhaps the best story was an interview with one of the creators of the humor blog "Animal Review" in which the authors grade animal species from F- to A+. They give Pandas an F for a variety of reasons that make sense once you read them and the octopus gets an A because it's like a "superhero". Unfortunately, the interviewer doesn't go along with the joke very well and drags it down. I felt like she was just getting in the way of a good joke. Surely, NPR must have someone with a sense of humor, right?

So, for a variety of reasons I just have to give this collection 3 stars out of 5.

This collection can be found on Amazon here: 
NPR Driveway Moments: More about Animals: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go

NPR FAVORITE DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: RADIO STORIES that WON'T LET YOU GO by NPR

Published in 2012 by HighBridge Audio
Multicast performance
Duration: 2 hours, 16 minutes

This collection was inspired by listeners who wrote NPR and commented on why these stories from their vast treasure trove of stories have stuck with them for so long. Some are funny, some are sad and some are thought-provoking. They are also a mixed bag. Some are great, some are so-so and some had me wondering why they were included at all.

Pretty typical of the collection is a skit called "Complexities of Modern Love in the Digital Age". It features the two voice actors that you most typically hear when you call a big corporation for customer service and they lead you through the phone tree. In this case, they have the two voices talk to one another and date. The idea is sort of cute but the actual skit was not as funny as the idea of the skit.

A Kathy Griffin interview. Eh. 

The Cookie Monster interview was fun.

I loved the story about a stray cat that wandered into a prison yard and was adopted by the prisoners. They feed it, take turns with it and the amount of discord in the yard has dropped because of this one cat.

I also liked the story of the former KKK member who went from harassing his Jewish neighbors to converting to Judaism thanks to a little human kindness.

The story about pets in the Sarajevo during the war among what used to be Yugoslavia was very interesting.

The story of a young couple in China digging through the rubble after an earthquake looking for their only son and his grandparents who were babysitting was gripping and heartbreaking. Easily the best in the collection.

The story that will stick with me was "Growing Up, Aging Out: The End of Foster Care". It was told from a very sympathetic point of view, wondering what a girl was going to do when she turned 21 and was no longer eligible to be part of the foster care system. But, I found it to be very irritating and the longer I listened the angrier I got. This girl was not physically disabled. She still had not finished high school and she was nearly 21 years old. She was making no moves to get a job or even finish high school. Instead, had been conditioned to accept handouts her whole life and to not work. How would she live without a government check? What would she do? What she was doing was sleeping with her drug dealer boyfriend and trying to get pregnant. I listened to it with my high school-aged daughter and I turned it into a cautionary tale.

So, lots of forgettable stories, some so-so stuff, a couple of really good ones and one really disturbing one.

I rate this collection 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR FAVORITE DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: RADIO STORIES that WON'T LET YOU GO.

NPR CLASSIC DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: RADIO STORIES THAT WON'T LET YOU GO (audiobook)

Published in March of 2010 by HighBridge Audio
Multicast Performance
Duration: 2 hours

NPR Classic Driveway Moments is a collection comprised of 13 stories (and one intro track) culled from 31 years of NPR radio stories (1979-2010). Most of these stories have depth but not all are equal. 

I was profoundly moved by a story called "My So-Called Lungs" featuring a young woman starting college while struggling with cystic fibrosis. It was engrossing on multiple levels and my high school-aged daughter and I were captivated by the woman's honesty, grace and humor in the face of inevitable death. 

On the other hand, the story "Death of a Child: Losing Adam", featuring a child who was dying from a terminal illness just felt intrusive and maudlin. 

The interview with George Foreman was interesting and quite enjoyable, although NPR being NPR, they found a way to bring a downer note to it by tying the George Foreman grill into it and interviewing homeless people who used it as a cooking appliance of last resort.

The collection ends with a great story, undoubtedly exaggerated, about 2 friends hitch hiking across Nebraska in the 1970s. "Hitching a Ride with Junior McGee" is a great short story told well and is a good way to finish the collection.

Note: this collection is up and down, but the strong stories are very, very strong and are worth listening to.

I rate this collection 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon here: NPR Classic Driveway Moments: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go

NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: DOG TALES: RADIO STORIES that WON'T LET YOU GO by NPR

Published by HighBridge Audio in 2011.
Multicast Performance
Duration: 2 hours, 7 minutes

NPR's Driveway Moments collection are called "Driveway Moments" because the idea is supposed that the stories are so good that the listener sits in the driveway and listens to the end of the story when he/she gets home rather than just turning off the car and going on into the house.

In this collection, the emphasis is on dogs and this collection covers all sort of dogs. From homeless chihuahuas in Los Angeles  to massive sheep dogs in Turkey. There are celebrity dogs, blind dogs, war hero dogs and dogs that go to church. We also hear from two different dog trainers, learn about DNA testing for dogs and learn about a mother dog that adopted a nursing tiger Cub. 

The collection is up-and-down but the strong stories are good enough for me to rate this collection 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR Driveway Moments: Dog Tales: Radio Stories that Wont Let You Go.

Reviewed on March 7, 2015

NPR MORE FUNNIEST DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: RADIO STORIES that WON'T LET YOU GO

Should be called "Funny People in Rather Boring Interviews" 

Published by HighBridge Audio in 2010
Multicast Performance
Duration: 2 hours, 12 minutes

This collection of performances from NPR's vast radio library is the second volume of "Funniest Driveway Moments." They are called Driveway Moments because the idea is supposed that the stories are so good that the listener sits in the driveway and listens to the end of the story when he/she gets home rather than just turning off the car and going on into the house.

But, most of this 2 CD set should be called "Funny People in Rather Boring Interviews." 

The collection starts out with a run-of-the-mill interview with Joan Rivers (Sorry NPR but discussing her husband's suicide is just not funny) and the most boring interview with Harry Shearer that I have ever heard. There was an interview with Harold Ramis about how to write comedy that was vaguely humorous and I was really beginning to wonder if this would ever pick up.

Thankfully, a clip from "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" came on featuring Brian Williams. Despite the recent controversy concerning Williams, this is the best segment of the first CD.

Carol Burnett and Tim Conway come through at the beginning of the second CD and after several slow cuts, another "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" cut comes in and picks things up. An interview with Jane Lynch is not terrifically funny but at this point I was glad to settle for interesting and a couple of chuckles. The second CD just sort of eases its way out and I was glad to see it go.

I am a huge fan of NPR's Driveway Moments series but this set is just not all that funny. If you want an NPR-based laugh, find any of the "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" CD sets (The Brian Williams track is on one of them) and have a laugh. This was a disappointment.

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR More Funniest Driveway Moments: Radio Stories that Won't Let You Go.

Reviewed on March 6, 2015

NPR ROAD TRIPS: ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS (audiobook)

Published in 2009 by HighBridge Audio

Multicast Performance

Duration: about 1 hour.

National Public Radio has combed through its broadcast archives and found 13 different stories about the great American institution - the road trip. But, these aren't just any stories. These are stories that feature another great American institution - the roadside attraction. 

The stories cover a variety of quirky attractions including the Elvis Is Alive Museum, The Velveteria (featuring black velvet paintings of Elvis and lots more!), the world's 2nd biggest ball of twine, a series of backyard folk art exhibits in Michigan and even a couple of more famous attractions like Florida's Cypress Gardens and Seattle's Space Needle. A slightly off topic, but very interesting, story about the famed Burma Shave signs is also included. The stories wind up with the story of an epic musical piece written in the classical style about the trials and tribulations of the family car-based vacation.

The stories are all told with a sense of good-natured fun and some, like the story about the Velveteria and the musical tribute to the family road trip have moments where they are laugh-out-loud funny. The first story was fairly weak. But, taken as a whole, these stories are well worth your time.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR ROAD TRIPS: ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS. 

Reviewed on February 21, 2015.

NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: ALL ABOUT ANIMALS (audiobook)

My daughters and I give it 5 stars

Published in 2007 by HighBridge Company
Multicast performance
Duration: approximately 1.5 hours

NPR has a series of audiobooks published through HighBridge Company called Driveway Moments with the added thought that these are "radio stories that won't let you go." These are designed to be the types of stories that you sit in the car in your driveway and continue to listen to after you've arrived home.

In this collection the stories are about animals. We've got cats, dogs, raising baby hummingbirds and letting them go (it brings a tear to the eye), a giant turtle in Vietnam, a drive through pig semen store, a parrot that talks with the voice of the storyteller's deceased mother's voice, and a farm for retired racehorses. There is also a long story about how pets made it through the chaos of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. This is a tough story with lots of sad stories and great stories of re-uniting people and their animals. 

The collection ends with a touching tribute by frequent NPR contributor Daniel Pinkwater to his recently deceased dog. It is so touching that I have gotten a catch in my throat both times I have tried to describe it to my wife.

I listened to this collection with my two daughters (3rd and 9th grade) and it generated a pretty good discussion over the Hurricane Katrina story. The pig semen story went over the little one's head and the last story by Daniel Pinkwater touched us all.

The audio quality is very good since these stories were all broadcast over NPR. My kids did not appreciate NPR's offbeat musical interludes between stories, but all three of us rated this collection 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: ALL ABOUT ANIMALS.

Reviewed on October 27, 2014.

NPR AMERICAN CHRONICLES: WORLD WAR I (audiobook) by NPR

Multicast performance
Duration: 3 hours, 25 minutes

National Public Radio (NPR) has gone through its archives and pulled out almost thirty stories about World War I in honor of the 100th anniversary of the start of the war. The stories include interviews with soldiers and historians and various authors. 

World War I flying ace Eddie
Rickenbacker (1890-1973) in his Spad
plane in October of 1918.

Topics include a look at pre-World War I Europe, a look at the creator of the Sopwith Camel, discussions of several battles, hand-created masks for men whose faces were damaged in the war, a mini-biography of America's famed flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, a look at the post-war Bonus Army during the Great Depression and audio visits to several World War I museums, including one that recognizes Herbert Hoover's efforts to feed Belgium during the war (mostly forgotten in America).

The audio quality of all of these stories is excellent since they were all originally broadcast on the NPR network. They are told in a logical manner and make for an interesting look at this oft-overlooked war.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: NPR American Chronicles: World War I by NPR. 

THE MEN WHO UNITED the STATES: AMERICA'S EXPLORERS, INVENTORS, ECCENTRICS and MAVERICKS and the CREATION of ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE (audiobook) by Simon Winchester

Published in 2013 by Harper Audio
Read by the author, Simon Winchester
Duration: 13 hours, 33 minutes

Simon Winchester's sprawling book, The Men Who United the States, tells a history of the United States organized around five themes: Wood, Earth, Water, Fire and Metal. To be honest, I largely ignored the themes and just enjoyed listening to this magnificent, chaotic, rambling history.

Starting roughly with Lewis and Clark (Winchester backtracks a lot), the story of America is told through the tales of the people that made America a more perfect union through their explorations or their inventions. The reader (or listener if you are enjoying the audiobook) is told about Lewis and Clark and the Pony Express and the invention of the telegraph, the first transcontinental rail line, the exploration of the Grand Canyon, the role of New Harmony (Indiana) in the study of American geography,  a con game involving jewels, how George Washington toured the Frontier before he became president, the Erie Canal, the telephone, Edison vs. Tesla, the first plane to travel across America, television, radio, the internet, modern day nuclear silos, the path of the Mississippi River and so much more that I cannot possibly remember it all.

I listen to audiobooks as I drive and this book was like having a history professor just ramble along with the most interesting stories about American history and the interesting places he has been. Like in a conversation, the story meanders but it flows quite naturally almost all of the time as the author throws in lots of interesting anecdotes about his own experiences, the lives of related historical figures or just something that was odd.

The author, Simon Winchester, narrates his own audiobook. It always concerns me when I see that the author is the reader of his or her own audiobook. Frankly, most authors do not have the voice or the skill to pull it off. Winchester's voice is pleasant and he succeeds with his narration even though his English accent sometimes made for some interesting pronunciations and served to remind me that he is not an American by birth but by choice (he recently became a Naturalized citizen).

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Men Who United the States

Reviewed on February 28, 2014

TIM RUSSELL: MAN of a THOUSAND VOICES (A Prairie Home Companion) (audiobook)

Published in September of 2013 by HighBridge Audio.
Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Multi-cast Performance

NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" has an extensive collection of audio CDs based on lots of different themes, including skits that highlight certain regular actors on the show. This CD focuses on Tim Russell, an actor with a real talent for mimicking celebrities and an admirable repertoire of original characters to draw upon. He has been a member of the cast since 1994. 

This CD has 19 different tracks that were broadcast from 1996-2012. Some are laugh-out-loud funny, some are merely amusing, and a couple are just okay (I am not a fan of "Guy Noir" or "The Lives of the Cowboys" - these are two recurring and popular skits that feature Russell). To be fair, Russell figures prominently in the collection of highlights featuring fellow cast member Sue Scott and I think she got the funnier bits on her CD.  Altogether, this is still a very solid hour of listening and a sure thing for any fan of Garrison Keillor.

Disclosure: I was sent a complimentary copy of this CD by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: TIM RUSSELL: MAN of a THOUSAND VOICES.

Reviewed on October 28, 2013.