BURNING DOWN MY MASTERS' HOUSE My Life at the New York Times

NEW YORK TIMES journalist Jayson Blair created a furor when his bosses discovered he had faked his reporting of a major story, plagiarizing some facts, inventing others. Lest his disgrace and ruined career be a total loss, he has penned an account of his downfall and its antecedents, which he narrates in this abridged recording. The novelistic approach he takes, complete with lengthy dialogue scenes, would call his veracity into question, were it not already eroded. His narration is uneven. At times he sounds as if he badly needs sleep; intermittently he jumps to life. Most of the time he's listenable, if uninspired. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]