AUDIO

You Are Not Special…and Other Encouragements

by David McCullough
, Jr. 7 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 8 hrs. Harper Audio. 2014. ISBN 9780062338280. $34.99; digital download. PARENTING
COPY ISBN
The genesis of this book was McCullough's 2012 commencement address to a high school class, which was recorded (ow.ly/CsQ1h) and went viral. The essential message of both this book and that speech concerns austerity and realism—your life so far may have taught you that success is easy, but it doesn't really work that way. While this exceedingly well-written book draws on a massive vocabulary and deep knowledge of literature, much of the first third is cranky, even discouraging. The occasional wisdom of the rest is often buried under rambling exposition and abandoned tangents. While the book's conversational tone translates quite well to audio format, and McCullough's narration is erudite and even-toned, the author is too taken with his own writing to be effective.
VERDICT Only the most dedicated listeners will slog through the full eight hours.
Reviewed by Douglas C. Lord, New Britain P.L., CT , Oct 10, 2014
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