LAURA BUSH An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady

First Lady Laura Bush has kept her personal life away from the media, so this sympathetic biography is drawn from interviews with family and friends rather than with Mrs. Bush herself. The information is supplied by sources like the first lady's friend Pamela Nelson and former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card. Susan Denaker approaches the work respectfully. While carefully differentiating the dialogue of various speakers and altering her voice to provide Texas accents when appropriate, Denaker's reading of the narrative mostly retains the same placid pace. She has a pleasant voice, clear pronunciation, and a sedate evenness in her delivery. Kessler's biography doesn't provide the traditional narrative arc, moving instead from anecdote to anecdote, so Denaker's consistent performance is a welcome anchor. R.F. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]