ROBERT E. LEE'S CIVIL WAR

Dick Estell, public radio's popular "Radio Reader," provides an entertaining narration of Bevin Alexander's controversial analysis of Robert E. Lee's military leadership in the Civil War. The book would not seem to lend itself to an audio interpretation; without maps and charts to help make the movements of the various armies clear, much of the impact and clarity can be lost. But Estell modulates his reading with the skill he's developed and refined over the years, and he succeeds in making the spoken text comprehensible. His idiosyncratic pronunciation of some words is distracting, but not to the point where it affects one's listening pleasure. G.M.N. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]