A HISTORY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Renowned London-based historian Sir Martin Gilbert, official Winston Churchill biographer, draws upon his multi-volume HISTORY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY to cram together a "concise history"; even 22 audiocassettes cannot do "the bloody century" justice. War, revolution, moon landings, natural disasters, and dozens of other factors swirl together in a year-by-year summary of the world's events. Narrator John Curless offers the listener two advantages. One, he employs a light British accent just like, presumably, the author. Two, he neither rushes nor tarries, and his pronunciation of difficult foreign words, names, and phrases is perfect. Matter-of-fact though his voice is, the overall effect is truly disturbing: what ghastly tribulation has humanity endured! D.R.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]