cover image Descent into Chaos

Descent into Chaos

Ahmed Rashid, , read by Arthur Morey. . Brilliance Audio, $49.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-4233-6806-9

“Iraq may turn out to be a mere side show compared with what is at stake with Pakistan and Afghanistan,” says Rashid in his critical, timely and expansive book (the introduction alone takes up almost an entire disc). Arthur Morey walks a thin line: his overall success conveying the information in this weighty tome without sounding like a monotone college professor is a credit to his talent. Morey's voice is calm, authoritative and confident. His diction is perfect and his mannered delivery never loses steam. Nevertheless, even with an important book such as this, it is difficult to convey this quantity of factual information in a way that doesn't eventually begin to drone on. Morey fights the good fight and comes out ahead, barely. A Viking hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 14). (July)