SHARON The Life of a Leader

If you didn’t know that this biography of Israeli general and political leader Ariel Sharon is read by Rich Topol, you’d swear it’s Sharon’s son, Gilad Sharon, doing the narration. The book is written in the first person and draws heavily on the elder Sharon’s personal letters and documents. Topol offers a solid, even intimate, reading. When he says “I”—whether it’s the author’s spoken words or a quotation from a letter—the listener will get the feeling it is Sharon the younger or elder who is speaking. Bringing to life a book that portrays the man in a personal way, Topol’s conversational tone carries the listener along. He differentiates mood by raising his pitch slightly during light family-oriented passages and slowing the pace down significantly—almost to the extent of pausing between each word—during especially emotional ones, such as when the author writes about terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2012]