Audiobooks: The Echoing Green

When it comes to listening to books, I prefer unabridged versions, especially if I haven’t read the book book. That way I don’t have to worry about what I might be missing from the printed page. I also appreciate the efforts made, in most cases, by the authors to do their own narration. After all, the books are their “babies,” so to speak.

First up, a selection from The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World, by Joshua Prager, narrated by the author.

I spoke with Prager in January, 2007, to ask him about his participation in the audio version.

“Once I new that the publishers wanted to o it, I asked if I would be able to ead it. I felt I would be able to do t with the right inflection and read it] enthusiastically,” he said.

The audiobook contains about 30 percent of the printed version, he said. “It was very baseball-centric. he 70 percent of the book that’s ot there is basically about the ives of the people, the backgrounds, why they reacted the way they did to this moment, and why it is the moment that it became.”

Prager said recording the book took a great deal of time and effort, but he was satisfied with the finished product and “delighted” to reach a different audience.

Listen to this:

The audiobooks excerpted here are all available from audio.com as well as retail outlets.