For the listener who can persevere beyond the barrage of crude language used by most of the male characters in author Conroy's humane look at life inside a Southern military academy, the producer offers a stunning audio version of a popular work of modern American fiction (published first in 1980).The star of this production is narrator Tom Stechschulte, who provides an amazing array of nuanced voices, even making each of the several native Charleston characters distinctive by his intonation.

By turns, Conroy holds up military ideals and savages the often brutal treatment of military school recruits.At once starkly realistic and lyrical, Conroy's diffuse prose ultimately lulls the listener into the rhythms of its episodic tide of plot devices.The sound quality of this unabridged audio book is supurb, as is the pacing and cover design.

Highly recommended.